Estonia’s main opposition party, conservative Fatherland (Isamaa), remains the country’s most popular political party, according to Norstat’s latest poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Fatherland had 28.3% support among voters in the poll taken over August-September 2024, which was largely unchanged from the previous poll three weeks earlier. The ruling Estonian…
The Lithuanian government is ready to send aid to Poland amid heavy floods caused by Storm Boris, BNS reports. Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) has offered Poland a high-capacity container pumping station and sandbagging equipment. Also, a team of 15-20 rescue workers stand ready to go to Poland. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry advised travellers…
The Estonian government will allocate EUR 2mn for state-owned rail operator Elron to open a regular passenger train connection between Tartu in southern Estonia and the Latvian capital, Riga, ERR reports. The support would allow Elron to open the new passenger service in spring 2025. Piret Hartman, Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, said that the…
The Estonian government expects to raise around EUR 2.47bn of new tax revenue to finance increased defence spending by the end of 2028, the Ministry of Finance estimated, ERR reports. The new so-called broad security tax will consist of three components: increased VAT rate, rise in personal income tax, and a corporate profit tax. The…
Estonia’s three-party coalition government has reached agreement on tax changes, Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced, ERR reports. He said that the government would raise the corporate profit tax, personal income tax, and VAT to finance increased spending on defence. The government will raise the VAT rate by 2 percentage points as of 1 July 2025…
Estonia’s Interior Ministry needs EUR 40mn to complete the deployment of infrastructure on the country’s border with Russia by the end of 2025, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets estimated, ERR reports. He said that the infrastructure included fencing, technological equipment, access roads, and communication systems. The overall cost could rise to EUR 100mn if the government…
Latvia’s banking association, Finance Latvia Association (FNA), opposes a proposed windfall tax on local banks, LETA reports. The association argued that the tax was “disproportionate, short-sighted, and nontransparent.” FNA warned that the tax would have negative long-term consequences, hampering Latvia’s growth, competitiveness, and attractiveness for private investment. The tax would oblige the financial sector to…
Lithuania has joined the US-led international initiative on strengthening cyber security, BNS reports. The initiative aims to counter the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware. Lithuania is the first of the three Baltic States to join the initiative, which was first announced at the second Summit for Democracy.
Latvia’s opposition United List will not try to topple the current coalition government for now, Edgars Tavars, chairman of the party’s parliamentary group, said, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Tavars noted that Prime Minister Evika Silina’s government had a “slight advantage” of votes in the parliament, the Saeima. Tavars said that United…
