The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed in final reading amendments that ban vehicles registered in Belarus from Latvia, LETA reports. 77 MPs voted in favour of the amendments, while 9 voted against, LSM reported. Under the legislation, Belarusian vehicles need to be reregistered in Latvia or taken out of the country by 31 October…
A new passenger train connection between Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, and the Latvian capital, Riga, will not open in October 2024 as planned, ERR reports. Märt Ehrenpreis, CTO of Estonia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Elron, said that certification of new Stadler FLIRT trains for operating on Latvian railways was taking longer than expected. Also, Elron…
Baltic and US officials held high-level security consultations in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on 12 September 2024, BNS reports. The meeting was attended by Jonatan Vseviov, secretary general of the Estonian Foreign Ministry, Andzejs Vilumsons, state secretary at the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, and US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell….
Average housing prices in Latvia rose by 1.1% in the second quarter of 2024 from the same period of 2023, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Prices of new housing increased by 11.4%, whereas the average price of existing housing dropped by 2.0% over a year. Compared to the first…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, has signed a three-year wet lease agreement with Germany’s Lufthansa Group, LETA reports. Under the agreement, airBaltic will begin operating Lufthansa Group flights with up to 21 Airbus A220-300 aircraft in summer 2025. Previously, airBaltic has signed leasing agreements with Lufthansa Group companies, including SWISS and Discover Airlines. Meanwhile, media…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has rejected proposed amendments that would have introduced criminal liability for prohibited agreements in public procurement, LETA reports. Prosecutor General Juris Stukans said that the Prosecution Office (LRP) would continue trying to convince MPs of the need for such legislation to prevent corruption and facilitate criminal investigations. The Corruption Prevention…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in final reading amendments that will allow Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland to store strategic gas reserves at the underground gas storage facility in Incukalns, LSM reports. The three Baltic States have earlier signed solidarity agreements on gas supplies. The amendments will also free the operator of the Incukalns…
Latvia’s state debt will remain below 50% of GDP in the coming years, Kaspars Abolins, head of the Latvian State Treasury, assured, LETA reports. Currently, the state debt stands at slightly over EUR 18bn, which is around 44% of GDP and one of the lowest in the EU, Abolins noted. The State Treasury expects the…
The number of job vacancies in the Baltic States rose in Lithuania but fell in Latvia and Estonia in the second quarter of 2024, according to Latvia’s Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Compared to a year earlier, the number of vacancies increased by 3.3% in Lithuania, but declined by 5.6% in Latvia and 10.6% in…