Latvia’s new president, former foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics, made his first official visit abroad to Estonia on 10 July 2023, ERR reports. He met with Estonian President Alar Karis, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and other officials in Tallinn. They discussed bilateral cooperation, regional cooperation projects, continued support for Ukraine, and the NATO summit in Vilnius….
The foreign ministers of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) have signed a joint declaration in support of Ukraine’s membership of the EU and NATO, ERR reports. The ministers stated that Ukraine’s future was within the “Euro-Atlantic family.” The declaration said that it was time to use the “Baltic experience of the 1990s” in…
Real estate and rental prices in Estonia have increased the most in the entire EU since 2010, according to Eurostat data, ERR reports. Real estate prices in Estonia have tripled and rental prices have increased by 212% between 2010 and the first quarter of 2023. Average real estate prices in the EU rose by almost…
Estonia’s privately-owned gas company, Eesti Gaas (Elenger), posted revenue of over EUR 1bn in 2022, which was a triple increase from just over EUR 380mn in 2021, ERR reports. Sales of natural gas amounted to EUR 890.2mn (88% of total revenue) and of electricity to EUR 67mn (nearly 7%). Sales in Estonia accounted for 46%…
NATO’s new defence plans for the Baltic region mean that the Estonian people will “no longer have to wait to be liberated” if the country is attacked, Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, stated, ERR reports. Speaking at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Kallas said that NATO would be ready to fight back immediately, which should…
NATO member states have agreed on new defence plans for the Baltic region, LRT reports. The plans mean that if Russia sets foot in the region, “it will be pushed out,” Lithuania’s defence chief, General Valdemaras Rupsys, stated. He said that work was needed to implement the new regional defence plans. Lithuania’s NATO Ambassador, Deividas…
The defence ministers of Canada and Latvia have signed a commitment to increase the size of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence battle group in Latvia to a brigade, LETA reports. Under the plan, Canada will double its number of troops in Latvia. Canada will deploy 2,200 troops, with the ability to add hundreds more as needed,…
US President Joe Biden met with Lithuania’s President, Gitanas Nauseda, in Vilnius in the morning of 11 July 2023, LRT reports. Speaking at the presidential palace, Biden reaffirmed US commitment to the defence of the Baltic States and to NATO. Biden recalled that he first visited Lithuania in 2014, when he was serving as vice…
The Lithuanian fashion retailer, Apranga Group, posted a retail turnover of EUR 147.6mn (including VAT) in the first half of 2023, which was up 15.6% from the same period of 2022, GlobeNewswire reports. Sales in Lithuania amounted to EUR 89.7mn (up 14.8%), in Latvia to EUR 35.0mn (up 14.5%), and in Estonia to EUR 22.9mn…