The Estonian government may allocate EUR 100mn to state-owned energy company Eesti Energia to speed up the construction of a new gas power plant in Narva, ERR reports. Also, the government is discussing the possible differentiation of renewable energy fees for companies and reducing network tariffs or changing electricity taxes for private consumers. The moves…
Lithuania will propose that the three Baltic States build a joint power plant to ensure flexible electricity production and energy security, Lithuanian Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas announced, BNS reports. Speaking on LRT, the minister suggested that the power plant could run on gas. He did not elaborate on the possible technology and location of the…
Lithuania’s conservative Homeland Union plans to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of President Gitanas Nauseda’s decree approving an incomplete cabinet of ministers, BNS reports. Homeland Union MP Mindaugas Linge argued that the formation of an incomplete government annuls the deadlines for the appointment of ministers who have not been appointed, which…
Lithuania should not censor everything related to Russian culture, the country’s incoming culture minister, Sarunas Birutis, stated, LRT reports. Speaking in an interview with ELTA, Birutis insisted that the “Russian nation was not the same as the Kremlin.” He pointed out that Russians had been neighbours to Lithuanians “for millennia” and would continue to be…
The Latvian government has failed to pay nearly EUR 1mn to the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, which coordinates the development of the Rail Baltica railway project, LSM reports. A member of RB Rail’s board told TV24 that the company’s staff were currently being paid from Estonian and Lithuanian money. The three Baltic States have…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved the state budget for 2025, LSM reports. The budget foresees revenues of EUR 18.4bn, while expenditure is planned at EUR 19.7bn. The estimated budget deficit will thus amount to EUR 1.3bn or 2.9% of the GDP. The key budget priorities are internal and external security and competitiveness. The…
Lithuania’s incoming centre-left government has revealed its draft programme for the next four years, LRT reports. The new coalition plans to focus on welfare, with more child benefits and better accessibility to health care and education. Also, the government may make changes to tax policy, moving towards progressive taxation. The new government plans to reverse…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed in final reading a new tax on local credit institutions, LETA reports. Under the new law, credit institutions registered in Latvia and branches of foreign credit institutions will have to make quarterly solidarity contributions for the next three years. The tax will amount to 60% of their excess…
Support for Estonia’s conservative opposition party, Fatherland (Isamaa), continued to fall in November 2024, according to the latest Norstat poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Fatherland’s support stood at 26.6%, which was down 4 points over a month. Meanwhile, support for the ruling liberal Estonian Reform Party has risen to 19.8%,…