Finland’s new defence minister, Antti Häkkänen, visited Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, to meet with his Estonian counterpart, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur, on 6 July 2023, ERR reported. The two ministers discussed bilateral defence cooperation, regional security, the NATO summit in Vilnius, assistance to Ukraine, and EU defence support. Pevkur said that Finland’s accession to NATO opened…
The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed an agreement with Latvian capital Riga’s heating supplier, Rigas Siltums, on a ten-year loan of EUR 20mn, LSM reports. Rigas Siltums will use the funds to finance its 2022-2023 investment programme to improve the district heating infrastructure in Riga. The company will invest a total of EUR 29mn…
Latvia’s Ministry of Welfare has submitted the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence for approval to the government, LETA reports. Under the draft law, ratification would include a reservation that Latvia would implement the convention in line with “the values, principles, and norms enshrined in the Constitution,” which stipulates…
Priority activities in Latvia’s welfare sector require budget funding of EUR 108.7mn in 2024, Welfare Minister Evika Silina stated, Baltic News Network reports. She noted that providing sufficient funding for the welfare sector was an investment into a “stable and well-off society.” Silina said that budget funding was needed for hospice care, child protection, support…
Altogether 84 prosecutors in Lithuania have resigned since 2019 and 55 since 2021, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene revealed, ELTA reports. She said that prosecutors with extensive work experience had resigned as well, and that the average age of prosecutors was going up. Meanwhile, only 18 new prosecutors have been hired, she noted. Grunskiene said that…
The three biggest risks to Lithuania’s financial system are the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the state of the economy, and cyber attacks, according to the Bank of Lithuania’s survey, ELTA reports. The risk of cyber attacks has increased significantly, the central bank noted. Dovydas Poderys, senior economist at the Bank of Lithuania, said…
Inflation continues to fall in Estonia, Rasmus Kattai, economist at the Bank of Estonia, said, BNS reports. Kattai said that the drop was mostly due to the fact that prices for energy and most agricultural commodities were coming down. However, he noted that it took time for the effect of the lower prices to pass…
NATO allies have deployed additional capabilities to safeguard the NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital city of Vilnius on 11-12 July 2023, ERR reports. Germany has stationed 12 Patriot air defence batteries, Spain has sent NASAMS air defence systems, and France will deploy Caesar mobile artillery in Lithuania. Also, Denmark, Finland, and France will station fighter…
The Estonian government has transferred 12 state-owned enterprises under the management of the new Ministry of Environment, ERR reports. The companies were previously managed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The Ministry of Environment will manage Eesti Raudtee, Elering, Elron, Nordic Aviation Group (Nordica), Operail, Port of Tallinn, Rail Baltic Estonia, Saarte Liinid,…