Latvia’s New Unity remained the country’s most popular political party in June 2023, according to the latest SKDS poll, LSM reports. The survey showed 11.5% support for New Unity, which was up 1 percentage point from May 2023. Opposition party Latvia First came in second with 10% (8.3%) of support, followed by the Progressives with…
Lithuania’s state-owned energy group, Ignitis Grupe, will invest EUR 25mn in energy and climate change startups over ten years through Germany’s World Fund, Baltic News Network reports. The group has signed an investment management agreement with WF World Fund Management. Earlier, Ignitis Grupe announced that World Fund would manage the group’s second venture capital fund….
Latvia’s National Centre for Education (VISC) has proposed a draft regulation that would cut the number of hours of physical and health education in secondary school by 128 hours in the academic year 2024/2025, DELFI reports. Under the plan, sports and health courses would take 187 hours instead of 315 hours at present. In place,…
Estonia’s procedure for disbursing unemployment insurance benefits has changed as of 30 June 2023, ERR reports. The duration of the benefits now depends on the state of the labour market. The previous fixed framework did not consider the ease or difficulty of finding employment. Under the new system, the labour market situation will be reevaluated…
Latvia is again short of diphtheria and tetanus vaccines, LSM reports. The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (SPKC) has refused to supply new vaccine doses to family doctors, given that the vaccine manufacturer is having temporary production problems. Vaccines for children will be available in the middle of July 2023 and for adults at…
Lithuania’s Finance Ministry has revised its GDP forecast for 2023, now projecting a contraction of 1%, Baltic News Network reports. In March 2023, the ministry predicted a GDP growth of 0.5% for 2023. As per the ministry’s updated forecast, the economy will expand by 2.5% in 2024, while the previous forecast had projected a 3%…
Retail turnover in Estonia saw a significant decline in the first half of 2023, primarily driven by decreases in the construction and industrial goods sectors, while food sales remained relatively stable, ERR reports. The electronics industry was particularly hard-hit, with a sharp 20% drop in sales year-on-year, specifically in computers and telecommunications devices. Bookstores also…
Germany will station a Patriot air defence system for the duration of the upcoming NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Baltic News Network reports. Also, additional combat capabilities will be stationed in Lithuania for the summit. The Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) will allocate over 3,000 troops for the event, which is to be held…
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry has appointed Minna-Liina Lind as Undersecretary for Global Affairs, ERR reports. Earlier, Lind has served as ambassador for human rights and migration at the ministry. She has worked at the Foreign Ministry since 2004. During her tenure, she has actively engaged with UN-related matters, serving both in the policy planning department of…