Latvia’s Ministry of Welfare has submitted the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence for approval to the government, LETA reports. Under the draft law, ratification would include a reservation that Latvia would implement the convention in line with “the values, principles, and norms enshrined in the Constitution,” which stipulates…
Lithuania’s government has approved an updated state border protection plan adapted to new threats, Baltic News Network reports. The Interior Ministry said that the updated plan would ensure timely and operational reinforcement of forces at the border, without the need for additional inter-agency coordination, in the event of a high threat level. The plan establishes…
Lithuania’s Constitutional Court ruled that legislation allowing the spelling of names of Lithuanian citizens in Latin-based non-Lithuanian characters in official documents does not violate the country’s Constitution, Baltic News Network reports. A group of 30 MPs, mostly from the opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS), had petitioned the court over the constitutionality of the…
The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK) will temporarily suspend marriage registrations as of 1 January 2024, Postimees reports. Archbishop Urmas Viilma said that the decision was due to “practical reasons.” He noted that the church’s questions on what legislative amendments that legalised same-sex marriages meant in practice remained unanswered. He pointed out that members of…
The proposal of Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) to begin monitoring media bias will only apply to programmes from third countries, TTJA director general Kristi Talving announced, ERR reports. She apologised for the confusion caused by TTJA’s proposal, saying that the agency should have clarified that the new rules would only apply…
A group of MPs in Lithuania will submit to the parliament, the Seimas, a draft law to recognise the Communist Party of Lithuania (KPL) as a criminal organisation, ELTA reports. If approved, the law would impose legal consequences on KPL members who held leadership positions, restricting their participation in political and diplomatic activities in Lithuania….
Car owners in Estonia face increasing pressure and deserve fair treatment, Simmo Saar, head of the newly-established Estonian Car Owners Association (EAOL), stated, ERR reports. The new association aims to represent the rights and interests of car owners, including in regard to taxation, highway planning, traffic law, penal policy, and traffic education. EAOL opposes the…
Estonia’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, Tiit Riisalo (Estonia 200), said that the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) had the right to protect Estonia’s media space from propaganda channels of hostile states, ERR reports. Riisalo said that TTJA had blocked 51 TV channels and 273 websites to date. Also, he noted that…
Estonia’s Minister of Interior, Lauri Läänemets (SDE), does not support the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority’s (TTJA) proposal to begin monitoring media bias in news programmes, ERR reports. The ministry’s media adviser, Andres Jõesaar, rejected the idea as well. Speaking on ETV’s “Aktuaalne Kaamera,” Jõesaar stated that there was no problem that required such…