UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has added the old town of the western Latvian city of Kuldiga and the modernist architecture of Lithuania’s second-largest city, Kaunas, to the list of World Heritage Sites. Kuldiga sought the designation for more than 20 years, LSM reported. Parts of the city’s historical centre date back to the 13th century….
Average housing prices in Latvia rose by 5.6% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s provisional data, LSM reports. Prices of newly-built housing increased by 15.0% and old housing by 3.2% over a year. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, housing prices…
Latvian banks made a total profit of EUR 350.312mn in the first half of 2023, which was up 2.6 times from EUR 132.526mn in the corresponding period of 2022, according to data from the Bank of Latvia, LETA reports. The banking sector’s overall profit for the first six months of 2023 was higher than for…
Latvia’s parliament, the Saeima, has approved a new coalition government led by Evika Silina with 53 votes for and 29 against, LSM reports. The three-party coalition consists of Silina’s centre-right New Unity party, the conservative Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), and the social-democratic Progressives. New Unity’s previous coalition partners, the National Alliance and the…
Latvians will elect one more MEP in the next elections to the European Parliament in June 2024, LETA reports. Currently, Latvia has eight MEPs. The European Parliament approved the European Council’s proposal to increase the number of MEPs from 705 to 720 due to demographic changes.
Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has searched the offices of the municipal administration in Valmiera, LSM reports. KNAB detained Valmiera’s mayor, Janis Baiks, and other officials as part of the criminal investigation. The officials and representatives of several companies are suspected of misappropriating more than EUR 4mn of funds from the European Regional…
Latvia’s New Unity, Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), and Progressives have agreed on the distribution of seats in their new coalition government, LETA reports. New Unity will have eight, ZZS will have five, and the Progressives will have three seats in the new cabinet. The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, is due to approve the…
Latvia’s State Border Guard (VRS) has asked the government to close the Silene checkpoint on the country’s border with Belarus due to a sudden surge in illegal border crossings in recent weeks, LSM reports. Latvia has two checkpoints on the Belarus border at Silene and Patarnieki. The Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), the State Police,…
Estonia and Latvia have signed a contract to buy IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defence systems from Germany’s Diehl Defence, BNS reports. The deal, worth nearly EUR 400mn, is the biggest single defence contract in Estonian history. The procurement will include launchers, radars, fire control centres, and missiles. The first systems are due to be delivered…