Latvian hospitals ran a budget deficit of EUR 20mn in the first half of 2024, according to the Latvian Hospital Association (LSB), LSM reports. Emergency services alone cost EUR 8mn more than planned. Several regional hospitals reported that they had already used a large part of the state-funded annual quota for medical services in the…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has supported in first reading amendments that would ban vehicles with Belarusian licence plates in the country, LSM reports. Under the proposed amendments, vehicles registered in Belarus would have to be transferred out of the country or reregistered in Latvia by 31 October 2024 at the latest. Otherwise, the vehicle…
The number of nights spent by foreign visitors in the three Baltic capitals was highest in Tallinn in the first half of 2024, according to data from the Latvian Hotel and Restaurant Association (LVRA), BNS reports. Foreigners spent 1.075 million nights at accommodation establishments in Tallinn, followed by Riga with 851,000 and Vilnius with 699,000….
Latvia’s Ministry of Transport has proposed that passengers travelling on the Rail Baltica railway will have to change trains to transfer from Riga Central Station to Riga International Airport, LETA reports. Under the plan, Riga Central Station would be connected to the airport via a standard-gauge (1,520 mm) railway line. The ministry argued that building…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics criticised Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens for his communication on the development of the country’s national air carrier, airBaltic, and the Rail Baltica railway project, LSM reports. Rinkevics said that the minister’s communication had been a “complete failure.” Speaking after her meeting with the President, Prime Minister Evika Silina said that she…
The Latvian government has decided to pay compensation to low-income households for rapid rises in energy prices, LSM reports. The permanent support mechanism will apply to exceptional price increases for electricity, heating, and biomass fuels. Households with per capita income of up to EUR 473 per month and housing expenditure of at least 30% of…
The Latvian government may impose a new surplus profit tax on individual banks as of 2025, Economy Minister Viktors Valainis has announced, LSM reports. The tax could be levied for two years. Valainis argued that the tax would incentivise banks to increase their lending significantly. Banks that increased their volume of lending could then be…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) has begun drawing up a 40-year “master plan” and a strategic environmental impact assessment, LSM reports. RIX has contracted Spanish engineering and consultancy company Ineco and Latvian environmental engineering services company VentEko to develop the plan over the next 18 months. The master plan will include guidelines for the airport’s…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, will open flights to several new destinations from the three Baltic capitals in summer 2025, including five from Tallinn, four from Riga, and seven from Vilnius, LRT reports. The company will offer flights from Tallinn to Tirana in Albania, to Hamburg in Germany, to Reykjavik in Iceland, and to Barcelona…