Hungary’s OTP Bank has signed an agreement to acquire the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, from US-based private equity fund manager Blackstone and Norway’s DNB Bank, Baltic News reports. OTP Bank had already expressed interest in acquiring Luminor several years ago, LETA reported. Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltic States….
The Latvian government is in talks with a strategic investor for the country’s ailing national airline, airBaltic, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs revealed, Reuters reported. He said that the potential investor was “a serious partner,” but refused to indicate what stake the investor could acquire. The state’s main condition was that the investor maintain airBaltic’s hub…
Russia may be planning provocations against the Baltic States or Poland to test NATO unity, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics warned, BNS and LETA reported. Nauseda said that intelligence indicated that Russia could be preparing “targeted kinetic operations” against critical infrastructure in the region. Rinkevics said that the intelligence reports pointed…
Latvia will deploy more air defence systems to its eastern border, Defence Minister Raivis Melnis announced, LETA reported. Speaking during a meeting with local government leaders, Melnis said that the deployment would include drones, radars, and interception systems, LSM reported. He thanked Ukraine for providing necessary help. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said that new counter-drone…
Completing the construction of the Rail Baltica railway in all three Baltic States by 2030 is “mathematically impossible,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reported. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs said that Estonian political leaders were living in a “dream world” regarding the project’s timetable, suggesting that they had been given incomplete…
Hackers have stolen large amounts of sensitive data from Latvia’s state forest management company, Latvijas Valsts Mezi (LVM), LETA reports. Baiba Kaskina, head of Latvia’s Cyber Incident Response Institution (CERT.LV), suggested that that the attack appeared to have been commercially motivated, LSM reported. A foreign ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister…
People abusing freedom of speech to spread disinformation and hate speech should be detained and isolated from society, Latvia’s Prosecutor General, Armins Meisters, stated, LETA reports. He said that the Prosecution Office would take action against specific individuals who were acting against Latvia’s national interests under the cover of press freedom and freedom of expression….
Latvia’s Minister of Culture, Nauris Puntulis, has ordered that the ministry stop using Russian in all official public functions, LETA reports. Under the order, the Ministry of Culture, its subordinate institutions, and state-owned companies under its management must stop using Russian at international events, strategic documents, advertising materials, official websites, and other public-facing functions by…
Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), will impose a contractual penalty of EUR 5.7mn on the Czech rolling stock manufacturer, Skoda Vagonka, LETA reports. Vivi board chairman Raitis Nespors explained that the penalties were due to delays in the delivery of new electric trains, failure to rectify identified defects on time, and other…
