Lithuania will close two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus following the arrival of Russian private military company Wagner Group’s mercenaries in Belarus, Deputy Interior Minister Arnoldas Abramavicius announced, BNS reports. He said that the plan was to close the Sumskas and Tverecius border checkpoints. Saulius Nekrasevicius, deputy director of the State Border Guard…
Latvian municipalities will be able to organise their school networks in accordance with the financing available, Education Minister Anda Caksa stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Caksa said that any school closures were for the municipalities to decide. Under the Education Ministry’s proposal, schools in cities will have to have at least…
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…
Latvia must prepare for Russia’s policy to remain aggressive over the long term, Latvia’s new ambassador to NATO, Maris Riekstins, stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, Riekstins said that recent events suggested that Russian leader Vladimir Putin saw extending the war in Ukraine over many years as the only way out of…
A man serving a sentence for attempted murder escaped from Latvia’s Riga Central Prison on 23 July 2023 but was caught within a few hours, LSM reports. Police launched an extensive search for the convict across the country, limiting the movement of persons and searching vehicles leaving Riga. Interior Minister Maris Kucinskis said that road…
Latvia’s National Alliance, Latvian Association of Regions (LRA), Movement For, and Progressives have failed to reach agreement on reducing the number of deputy mayors in the Riga City Council, LSM reports. The combined political group of Movement For and Progressives wants to cut the number of deputy mayors from the current three to just one,…
US-based credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Latvia’s sovereign credit rating at A-, which is unchanged from the previous rating in February 2023, LSM reports. At the same time, the agency revised its rating outlook from stable to positive. Fitch noted that Latvia had eliminated its dependence on Russian energy imports and reduced non-energy…
Latvia’s retail trade turnover fell by 2.3% in June 2023, compared to June 2022, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s calendar-adjusted data at constant prices, LSM reports. Retail trade of food products declined by 5.2% and non-food products by 2.9%, while retail sales of automotive fuel increased by 5.5% over a year. Retail trade turnover…
Latvia’s GDP fell by 0.9% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the corresponding period of 2022, according to seasonally and calendar non-adjusted data, the Central Statistical Bureau’s flash estimate indicated, LSM reports. Manufacturing fell by 4.0%, while services grew by 0.6% over a year. Compared to the first quarter of 2023, the GDP…
