US investment company Blackstone plans to sell Baltic-based Luminor Bank, according to Bloomberg, LETA reports. Blackstone expects to sell the bank for around EUR 1.9bn and to conclude the deal in 2024. Peter Priisalm, head of Avaron Investments, suggested that one potential buyer could be Polish insurance group PZU, while Valeria Kiisk, partner at Redgate…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has called a meeting of the State Defence Council (VGT) for 23 January 2024, BNS reports. The meeting will discuss a strategic threat assessment from the Lithuanian intelligence services, the structure of the national defence system, and the economic and financial measures for building an army division. Lithuania plans to establish…
Estonia’s debt to GDP ratio rose in the third quarter of 2023 but was still the lowest in the EU, according to Eurostat data, ERR reports. Estonia’s general government gross debt totalled EUR 6.789bn, which was up from EUR 5.585bn in the third quarter of 2022. The country’s debt to GDP ratio stood at 18.2%,…
Lithuania expects negotiations on Moldova’s EU membership to begin in March 2024, President Gitanas Nauseda said, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Nauseda called on Moldova to “mobilise on reforms.” He added that Lithuania was ready to help Moldova…
Germany’s Bundeswehr expects that the German brigade to be deployed in Lithuania will be made up of volunteers, Major General Ruprecht von Butler, commander of the German 10th Panzer Division, said, BNS reports. He assured that there would be enough troops willing to volunteer. Germany will deploy around 5,000 troops to Lithuania over 2025-2026, and…
The Estonian government has decided to terminate the country’s legal assistance agreement with Russia, ERR reports. The agreement mostly applies to cases under family and commercial law. The decision will lower judicial cooperation with Russia to the same level as with other third countries. Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna noted that the legal assistance treaty was…
Greece’s national air carrier, Aegean Airlines, will open direct flights from Lithuania’s Vilnius International Airport to Athens in April 2024, LRT reports. The company will have two flights per week on the new route until the end of October 2024, using Airbus A320 aircraft. Aegean Airlines has not previously operated regular flights in Lithuania, airport…
The Presidium of the Baltic Assembly has demanded “immediate efforts in Europe” to ensure total victory for Ukraine in the war against Russia, LSM reported. In their statement, the Baltic parliamentarians insisted that support for Ukraine must be “continuous, sufficient, timely, and far-sighted.” They warned other European parliaments not to underestimate the long-term impact on…
The West must take care of its own security instead of worrying about Russia’s future, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis stated, BNS reported. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Landsbergis pointed to “increasingly louder concerns” about Russia’s future in the West. He insisted that Russia has to solve its own problems, and that…
