Latvia’s State Security Service (VDD) has conducted searches at two locations related to former MEP Tatjana Zdanoka (Tatyana Zhdanok) of the Latvian Russian Union (LKS), LETA reports. VDD confiscated data carriers, notes, and documents for further analysis. VDD confirmed that the searches were part of a criminal investigation into Zdanoka’s possible cooperation with Russian intelligence…
Lithuania’s EU commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, will step down, having been elected to the European Parliament, BNS reports. He served as European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries since 2019. Sinkevicius has since been elected vice-president of the Greens/European Free Alliance group in the European Parliament. Saulius Skvernelis, chairman of the opposition Union of Democrats…
Latvian MEP Roberts Zile has been reelected one of the 14 vice-presidents of the European Parliament, LSM reports. He is the only Baltic MEP elected to the post so far. Zile is a member of the opposition National Alliance, which is a member of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. He has served as MEP…
Latvian MEP Vilis Kristopans of the opposition Latvia First (LPV) party will join the far-right Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, LETA reports. The group includes many members who are sympathetic towards Russia. Kristopans expects that the number of members in the group will continue to grow. Kristopans served as prime minister of…
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…
Estonian MEP Jaak Madison has joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament, ERR reports. Earlier, Madison left the far-right opposition party, Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), which is part of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the EU parliament. Madison said that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and…
Estonia’s outgoing prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has picked Vivian Loonela, head of the European Commission’s representation in Estonia, as her chief of staff if she is confirmed as EU’s foreign policy chief, ERR reports. Before her current position, Loonela served as the head of the Estonian delegation at the European Commission. The European Parliament will…
EU leaders have appointed Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas as the next High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, BNS reports. Kallas expressed her commitment to enhancing EU unity and addressing geopolitical challenges such as the war in Ukraine. She aims to strengthen the EU’s global partnerships and work closely with…
Estonia’s President, Alar Karis, has declared elections to the European Parliament to be held on 9 June 2024, ERR reports. Registration of candidates will begin on 10 April 2024 and early voting on 3 June 2024. Parties can nominate up to nine candidates each. Altogether 912,000 voters in Estonia are registered for the elections, ERR…