The Latvian government will have to decide on additional capital needed for the country’s national air carrier, airBaltic, in 2026, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens stated, LETA reports. He stressed that the airline’s future operations required capital investment. However, the government would have to seek additional sources of funding for such an investment, the minister explained….
Lithuania’s Finance Minister, Kristupas Vaitiekunas, urged the EU to pursue negotiations and prepare retaliatory measures after US President Donald Trump again threatened to raise tariffs, BNS reports. He predicted that the EU would be “in this game” through Trump’s entire term in office. “This process involving tariffs, negotiations, and pressure from both sides will be…
Estonia’s Minister of Finance, Jürgen Ligi, has rejected a proposal to lower the excise duty on diesel fuel temporarily, ERR reports. Ligi argued that broad-based tax cuts would have a very large and lasting negative impact on the state budget, and that targeted measures to support vulnerable households and sectors would be more sensible. In…
Estonia’s Finance Ministry has drafted legislative amendments that would grant the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) explicit authority to access banking data to combat money laundering, ERR reports. Under the law, banks would not be allowed to inform clients about such inquiries. Earlier, following criticism from Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise, Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta restricted…
Estonia’s real GDP will grow by 2.3% in 2026 and by 2.5% in 2027, according to the Ministry of Finance’s latest economic forecast, ERR reports. In subsequent years, the ministry expects the country’s GDP growth to slow down slightly. Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi noted that security and uncertainty were the prevailing factors at the moment….
The EU should make the implementation of a global minimum corporate income tax voluntary or abolish the tax altogether for small countries like Estonia, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi insisted, ERR reported. He noted that the EU had made the global minimum tax mandatory for member states through a directive, which he said placed EU businesses…
Estonia hopes to receive around EUR 6bn more from than it pays to the EU’s budget for 2028-2034, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi said, ERR reports. Under the current budget proposal, Estonia would contribute EUR 4.8bn to the EU’s next multiannual financial framework. Estonia’s national allocation would amount to EUR 6.5bn and funds awarded competitively to…
Latvian ministries have submitted 250 proposals for spending cuts, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens announced, LSM reports. Ministries have suggested cuts in remuneration, subsidies, goods and services, and other expenditure. The proposals would reduce public sector spending by EUR 150mn in 2026, the Finance Ministry estimated. The ministry targets cumulative spending cuts of up to EUR…
Breaking up Estonia’s state-owned energy group, Eesti Energia, would not improve energy security, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi stated, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview with Vikerraadio, Ligi insisted that Eesti Energia provided an essential service for society. He said that building a new gas power plant in Narva was a “good idea,” but stressed the…