Lithuania: Protest over Belarus balloon attacks, truck seizures

Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has lodged a formal protest with Belarus over continued “hybrid attacks” and seizure of property of EU citizens and companies, BNS reports. The ministry demanded that Belarus exercise effective control of its airspace and return “unlawfully detained” property, referring to incursions of smuggler balloons into Lithuania and the detention of Lithuanian trucks in…

Read More

Estonia: Europe must stand firm in Ukraine: official

Europe has finally received the message, “loud and clear,” from successive US presidents that Europeans must take responsibility for their own security, Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, said, ERR reports. He insisted that Europe must stand firm behind the principles that have made the current European security order possible — territorial…

Read More

Baltic: Baltics join call to use Russian assets to help Ukraine

The three Baltic States have joined Finland, Ireland, Poland, and Sweden in urging the EU to use frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine, LETA reports. The seven member states sent a joint letter to European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa to express support for the EC’s proposal…

Read More

Baltic: UN alarmed at exit from mine ban treaty

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed “grave alarm” at the decision of the three Baltic States, Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, BNS reported. Türk stressed that the international convention, which has over 160 state parties, was a crucial tool in “responding to…

Read More

Baltic: Regional parliament speakers to discuss helping Ukraine, Russian sabotage

Speakers of the parliaments of six countries bordering Russia will meet in the southern Estonian city of Tartu on 3 February 2025 to discuss further support for Ukraine and legislative means to counter Russia’s hybrid warfare, LSM reports. The parliamentary speakers will also discuss relations with the US and the situation in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia,…

Read More

Estonia: Telecom providers report drop in revenues in 2024

The combined revenues of Estonia’s three largest telecommunications service providers dropped to around EUR 671mn in 2024, ERR reports. Estonia’s leading telecommunications company, Swedish-owned Telia, reported an annual turnover of EUR 359.7mn, which was down 0.4% from 2023. Finnish-owned Elisa’s turnover fell by 1.2% to EUR 223mn in 2024. Swedish-owned TELE2’s turnover amounted to an…

Read More

Baltic: NATO to hold summit on Baltic Sea infrastructure, Russia’s shadow fleet

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal will host a summit of Baltic rim NATO countries in Helsinki on 14 January 2025 to discuss the security of critical undersea infrastructure and Russia’s shadow fleet, ERR reports. Political leaders from all Baltic rim NATO countries, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission…

Read More