Estonia’s consumer price index rose by 3.5% in 2024 compared with 2023, according to revised data from Statistics Estonia. Changes in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices had the biggest impact on the index in 2024, accounting for 23.7% of the total rise. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 3.2%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco…
The four policy priorities of Latvia’s coalition government in 2025 are “security, support for families, economic growth, and reducing bureaucracy,” Prime Minister Evika Silina announced, LSM reports. She will begin individual meetings with ministers to discuss the priorities, according to LETA. Silina said that national security remained the government’s most pressing priority, highlighting the need…
The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) helped attract 45 foreign investment projects, which will create an estimated 2,023 new jobs, in 2024, LSM reports. The total value of the projects is EUR 655.4mn, which is up 6% from 2023. The biggest investments were in high-value-added manufacturing, ICT, energy, and aviation. LIAA’s target is…
The gross value added (GVA) generated by the forestry and logging industry in the Baltic States was highest in Latvia in 2022, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The sector’s GVA totalled EUR 490mn in current prices in Latvia in 2022, which was up from EUR 123mn in 2000. The forestry industry’s GVA totalled EUR…
People in Latvia are more optimistic about their financial situation, according to a new SKDS poll for Luminor Bank conducted in December 2024, Baltic News Network reports. The survey showed that 42% of respondents expected their financial situation to improve in 2025, with 22% expecting much better and 21% slightly better finances. Meanwhile, 24% of…
Lithuania should not support the ratification of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, Lithuania’s Agriculture Minister, Ignas Hofmanas, stated, Baltic News Network reports. Speaking in an interview with LRT, Hofmanas insisted that Lithuania should wait for the European Commission’s “detailed explanation” of the free trade agreement. Earlier, the rural affairs committee of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas,…
The malfunction of the EstLink 2 power cable between Estonia and Finland is likely to raise electricity prices in Estonia, according to energy experts, ERR reports. However, Jaanus Uiga, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Climate, said that, owing to an increase in renewable energy capacity, the price difference between Estonia and Finland could…
People in Lithuania are more optimistic about the economy, according to a new Baltijos Tyrimai poll for ELTA conducted in October-November 2024, Lietuvos Rytas reports. The survey showed that 40% of respondents believed that the country’s economic situation had deteriorated in the past two months, which was down from 54% a year earlier. Meanwhile, 43%…
Lithuania will propose that the three Baltic States build a joint power plant to ensure flexible electricity production and energy security, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas announced, BNS reports. Speaking on LRT, the minister suggested that the power plant could run on gas. He did not elaborate on the possible technology and location of the…