Estonia’s Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur, said that the Estonian Defence Forces believed that the country’s defence spending could rise to 4.5% of GDP, ERR reports. However, Pevkur emphasised the need for a “reasonable limit” due to investments in health care, social welfare, and education. He acknowledged the desire for increased spending on defence given…
Lithuania’s excess mortality, which surged during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to experts, LRT reports. In the first eleven months of 2023, nearly 32,000 people died, which was down from almost 39,000 in the same period a year earlier, 43,000 in 2021, and 37,000 in 2020. Despite…
Latvian businesses urge the government to ease the rules on the entry of foreign labour into the country, LSM reports. Speaking at a conference on human capital development in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, business representatives and market analysts noted that Latvia’s human resources were exhausted. They called for improving labour availability through relaxed rules…
The average level of consumer prices in Latvia rose by 3.3% in September 2023, compared to the same period of 2022, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s data, LSM reports. The rise in food prices accounted for 1.5 percentage points, alcohol and tobacco for 0.6 percentage points, and health care for 0.6 percentage points of…
Family doctors in Latvia are considering going on strike in autumn 2023, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Ainis Dzalbs, board member of the Latvian Association of Rural Family Physicians (LLGAA), insisted that the lack of budget funding made it impossible to provide proper patient care. He noted that patient queues currently exceeded…
Latvian ministries and other institutions have submitted proposals for priority budget measures worth EUR 1.983bn for 2024, according to the Ministry of Finance, LETA reports. Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens said that funding requests were EUR 250mn lower than in 2023. The largest requests were for teacher wages, health care, and defence. Other requests included covering…
Latvian consumers are worried the most about the rising prices of utilities, electricity, and food products, according to a Norstat poll for Luminor Bank, Baltic News Network reports. The survey showed that 29% of respondents were worried the most about heating and other utility costs, another 29% about electricity costs, and 24% about food prices….
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, held his inauguration speech in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, outlining his vision of a “strong, modern, just, and safe” Latvia, on 8 July 2023, LSM reports. The President noted that Latvia was one, yet not homogenous, and stressed that the rights of every person must be protected. Latvia’s biggest…
