Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, will cancel altogether 4,670 flights in summer 2025, LSM reports. The company will suspend flights on 19 routes and cut the number of flights on 21 routes. The cancellations will affect around 67,160 passengers. The company said that US manufacturer Pratt & Whitney’s engine maintenance work on the airline’s Airbus…
Average consumer prices in Latvia rose by 2.2% in November 2024 when compared to the same period of 2023, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. Compared to October 2024, average consumer prices rose by 0.2%. Since 2015, overall consumer prices have risen by 46.4%.
The passenger train operators of the three Baltic states will begin coordinating their timetables to enable a smooth connection between the Baltic capitals, LSM reports. Estonia’s Elron, Latvia’s Vivi, and Lithuania’s LTG Link plan to align the timetables as of 6 January 2025. Transfer times at Valga and Riga will be around 10-20 minutes. The…
The Latvian government has failed to pay nearly EUR 1mn to the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, which coordinates the development of the Rail Baltica railway project, LSM reports. A member of RB Rail’s board told TV24 that the company’s staff were currently being paid from Estonian and Lithuanian money. The three Baltic States have…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved the state budget for 2025, LSM reports. The budget foresees revenues of EUR 18.4bn, while expenditure is planned at EUR 19.7bn. The estimated budget deficit will thus amount to EUR 1.3bn or 2.9% of the GDP. The key budget priorities are internal and external security and competitiveness. The…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed in final reading a new tax on local credit institutions, LETA reports. Under the new law, credit institutions registered in Latvia and branches of foreign credit institutions will have to make quarterly solidarity contributions for the next three years. The tax will amount to 60% of their excess…
The Latvian government has approved new regulations under which transport and related infrastructure, signs, and information must be in Latvian and, if needed, in another official EU language, LSM reports. The new rules will thus preclude such signs in Russian. Justice Minister Inese Libina-Egnere said that the new rules would create a more attractive environment…
Latvian monetary financial institutions (MFIs), mainly banks, generated total profits of EUR 461.7mn in the first ten months of 2024, which was down 22.6% from EUR 596.2mn in the same period of 2023, according to data from the Bank of Latvia, LETA reports. The total assets of MFIs amounted to EUR 29.23bn at the end…
The founder of a Belarusian startup firm is on trial in Latvia for violating EU sanctions, LSM reports. Igor Medved, founder of Nordwoc, is accused of supplying high-tech equipment to the Belarusian military-industrial complex. The prosecutor has asked for Medved to be sentenced to two years in prison, fines, and confiscation of property. The entrepreneur…
