Lithuanian tour operator Novaturas Group’s total revenue amounted to EUR 208mn in 2023, which was up 6% from EUR 197mn in 2022, GlobeNewswire reported. The group served around 259,000 customers in 2023, which was down from 267,000 a year earlier. Novaturas Group appointed Kristijonas Kaikaris as its new CEO in December 2023. Prior to his…
The number of new layoffs in Estonia totalled 3,500 in 2023, which was 22% more than in 2022, according to data from the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa), ERR reports. Around a third of those laid off were formerly employed in the manufacturing and another third in transport and storage. The biggest number of layoffs…
The Estonian state should consider buying a stake in Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, Riivo Tuvike, CEO of Tallinn Airport, suggested, ERR reports. He argued that this would push airBaltic towards expanding operations at Tallinn Airport, where it is the market leader. Tuvike pointed out that Estonia was a “peripheral country,” saying that state support…
Estonian media group Ekspress Grupp will stop publishing its daily newspaper, Eesti Päevaleht, in print as of April 2024, ERR reports. Ekspress Grupp said that the move was due to changes in consumer behaviour. Eesti Pävaleht will continue as a digital publication under the DELFI news portal’s opinion, culture, and weekend sections. Eesti Päevaleht’s print…
The number of school students learning Russian has declined by 25% in Estonia, ERR reports. An official at the Ministry of Education said that 59% of students in grades 4-6 learned Russian in the school year 2023/2024, which was down from 78% in the year before. Around 20% of students have switched from Russian to…
Estonia’s state-owned Rail Baltic Estonia has signed a contract for construction work on the first section of the new Rail Baltica main railway line with TREV-2 Grupp and AllSpark, ERR reports. The 4.8-kilometre section runs from Tallinn’s Ülemiste railway station to Rae municipality. Construction work will begin in spring 2024 and is due to be…
The Estonian shipping company, Tallink Grupp, carried a total of 5,705,600 passengers in 2023, which was up 4.5% from 5,462,085 in 2022, ERR reported. The number of passengers increased on the Estonia-Finland and Estonia-Sweden routes, but decreased on the Finland-Sweden routes. The company’s ferries carried 840,881 passenger vehicles in 2023, which was an increase of…
Estonia’s ruling coalition plans to lower the country’s voting age in all elections to 16 years, ERR reports. The coalition has agreed on cutting the minimum voting age in elections to the European Parliament. Under the plan, teenagers would be able to vote in European elections in 2029. The coalition parties want to cut the…
The Estonian Defence and Aerospace Industry Association (EKTL) has signed a cooperation agreement with Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries, ERR reports. The agreement, which covers both technology development and transfer, allows Estonian defence industry companies to increase their involvement in the development of Ukraine’s defence capabilities, giving direct access to Ukrainian state institutions. Currently, 10…