Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, who chairs the ruling Estonian Reform Party, expressed her will to remain as prime minister for four years, ERR reported. In an interview with Maaleht, Kallas said that she wanted to see the positive results of her government’s challenging decisions rather than just face criticism. Kallas dismissed rumours about running…
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina’s New Year message emphasised the significance of education for the nation’s future prosperity, LSM reported. Speaking from Riga Technical University, she underscored the importance of science and learning to compete globally. Silina called for investing in children, highlighting the role of education in shaping their future. She paid tribute to…
Estonia’s state-owned airline, Nordic Aviation Group (Nordica), generated consolidated revenue of EUR 85.5mn in the first nine months of 2023, which was up 29.8% from the same period of 2022, ERR reports. The rise in revenue was due to fleet expansion and increased number of passengers. However, revenue remained significantly lower than targeted due to…
The Latvian government has approved a draft law on ratifying the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence, LSM reports. An accompanying declaration states that Latvia will apply the convention in line with the Constitution, “in particular with regard to the protection of human rights, equality between women and men,…
The Estonian opposition party, the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), remains the country’s most popular party, according to a Norstat poll for the Institute of Societal Research (YI) conducted in October 2023, ERR reports. The survey showed that 23.2% of voters now support EKRE, followed by another conservative opposition party, Fatherland (Isamaa), with 20.2%….
Latvia’s Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS), which is part of the country’s current coalition government, will continue to cooperate with former Ventspils mayor Aivars Lembergs despite him having been sentenced to prison for corruption, LSM reports. Harijs Rokpelnis, chairman of the ZZS parliamentary group, pointed out that the court verdict had not entered into…
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has submitted the draft state budget for 2024 to the parliament, the Riigikogu, for debate, ERR reports. Budget revenues will amount to EUR 16.79bn, expenses to EUR 17.67bn, and investments to EUR 0.82bn. The budget deficit is estimated at EUR 1.19bn or 2.8% of GDP, and the government therefore plans…
The Latvian government does not plan to make major changes to taxation in 2024, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens assured, LSM reports. He said that now was not a good time to make changes in VAT, labour taxes, personal income tax, or corporate income tax. However, the Ministry of Finance will propose raising the excise duties…
Latvia’s Ministry of Finance plans to submit draft laws on the state budget for 2024 and budget plans for 2024-2026 to the parliament, the Saeima, on 3 November 2023, LETA reports. The government will discuss the budget at its next meeting. The new coalition government’s declaration pledges to carry out a “balanced social, environmental, and…