Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has failed to find evidence to support allegations that opposition MP Ainars Slesers had received money from Russian President Vladimir Putin, BNS reports. KNAB started the investigation in October 2022 after Dmitry Muratov, editor of Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, alleged that Putin had paid money to several Western…
Lending in Latvia remains slow, with high interest rates compared to the Eurozone, particularly in the housing and corporate sectors, according to the Bank of Latvia, LETA reports. While home loan interest rates have decreased slightly since 2018, they are still two percentage points higher than the Eurozone average, partly due to the dominance of…
The Lithuanian wood processing group, VMG Group, has suspended its plan to build a particleboard factory in neighbouring Latvia for an indefinite period, Baltic News Network reports, citing business news portal Verslo Zinios. Rimas Varanauskas, shareholder of the project’s partners, Lithuanian furniture manufacturers Freda and Freda II, said that the project was put on hold…
Latvia’s electricity production totalled 6,388 GWh in 2023, which was 27.0% more than in 2022, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Renewable energy sources accounted for 4,963 GWh of total electricity production, which was 1,146 GWh (30.0%) more than a year earlier. Hydro power plants generated 3,794 GWh of electricity (up…
The Latvian government will freeze public funding for political parties in 2025, Prime Minister Evika Silina announced, LSM reports. She said that coalition parties had approved the proposal to halt the indexation of state support for parties. The government’s austerity measures have required ministries to cut spending in the public sector. Altogether 12 political parties…
Latvia will host an international “drone summit” in the beginning of 2025, Defence Minister Andris Spruds announced, LSM reports. He said that the summit would promote the creation of secure supply chains for drone components and the production of drone systems in NATO member states. The cooperation was aimed at ensuring targeted deliveries of unmanned…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) served a total of 4.6 million passengers in the first eight months of 2024, which was 8% more than in the same period of 2023, LSM reports. The number of flights to and from Riga totalled 41,500. In August 2024 alone, the airport served 740,000 passengers, which was up 8%…
The Latvian government plans to raise the country’s minimum wage in 2025, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens announced, LETA reports. Under the minimum wage algorithm, the monthly minimum wage will rise to EUR 740 in 2025, EUR 780 in 2026, EUR 820 in 2027, and EUR 860 in 2028. Currently, the minimum wage stands at EUR…
Latvia’s Public Electronic Mass Media Council (SEPLP) has told the state-owned TV channel, LTV7, to provide all content in Latvian only as of 1 January 2025, BNS reports. Currently, LTV7 carries programmes in Russian as well. Earlier, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, approved a new national security concept that obliges Latvia’s public broadcasters to have…