The prime ministers of the three Baltic States have signed a joint declaration to speed up the synchronisation of the Baltic power grids with the continental European network, ERR reports. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the Baltic States would disconnect from the Russian-controlled BRELL system as soon as it was technically possible. She…
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…
Latvia’s Foreign Ministry plans to ask other Schengen Area countries to consider a unified approach to the entry of Belarusian and Russian citizens to the EU, Baltic News Network reports, citing LSM. Earlier, a group of Russian citizens arrived in Latvia as part of an Azerbaijani football team, using Schengen visas issued by a third…
Construction costs in Latvia increased by 4.1% in June 2023, compared to a year earlier, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. Labour remuneration rose by 6.7%, maintenance and operational costs of machinery and equipment by 5.8%, and prices of building materials by 2.2% over a year. Compared to May 2023, construction…
Latvia’s state real estate management company, Valsts Nekustamie Ipasumi (VNI), has taken over a project to build a fence on the country’s border with Russia from the State Security Service (VDD), LSM reports. VNI board chairman Renars Griskevics said that construction work would resume at the end of 2023. However, the final deadline for the…