Estonia’s ruling coalition parties have agreed to boost Estonia’s economic competitiveness by developing new industries and focusing on nationwide development, ERR reports. The three parties aim to reduce bureaucracy and use EU funds and CO2 money for industrial growth. The coalition plans to distribute subsidies for large investments across Estonia to raise wages and improve…
The Latvian government made a decision in 2015 to include international railway stations at Riga Central Station and Riga International Airport (RIX) in the Rail Baltica project, according to the Ministry of Transport, LETA reports. The then government approved a plan to build the project’s most complex objects first so that they would be available…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics called for increased EU defence spending, exempting it from fiscal rules, Kathimerini reports. He emphasised the need for the EU to be more self-reliant in defence and for more coordination in defence matters. During his visit to Athens, Rinkevics discussed with Greek officials boosting economic ties, securing more funding for external…
The Estonian government will tighten controls on the transit of goods subject to EU sanctions, Ukrainska Pravda reports. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that attempts to evade sanctions continued to occur on the border with Russia. She noted that the EU’s latest sanctions package exacerbated the threats. The government will therefore replace the present risk-based…
US technology company Google has removed the official accounts of EU-sanctioned Russian performers, following a request from the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK), BNS reports. LRTK asked Google to remove the YouTube accounts of several Russian artists who have been placed under EU sanctions for actively supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow undermines confidence in Hungary’s EU presidency, BNS reports. Nauseda said that Orban’s “unilateral decision” to visit Moscow does not represent the EU position. “If you truly seek peace, you do not shake hands with a bloody…
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has pledged not to comment on domestic politics if she is appointed as the EU’s foreign policy chief, ERR reports. She will be stepping down after over three years in office. Despite challenges and tensions within the ruling coalition during her tenure, Kallas acknowledged the honour of serving and expressed…
Lithuanian MEP-elect Virginijus Sinkevicius has been elected as one of the six vice chairpersons of the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament, BNS reports. Sinkevicius served as the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries in the outgoing European Commission. He is a member of the opposition Union of Democrats for Lithuania…
A major loophole in EU sanctions against Russia is being exploited via Belarus, evidenced by a luxury car traffic jam at the Latvia-Belarus border, LSM reports. Although luxury car exports to Russia are banned, they are allowed to Belarus, resulting in a 50-fold increase in car exports to Belarus via Latvia. This suggests that many…