Estonia’s Ministry of Interior expects the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK) to leave the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church before summer 2025, ERR reports. Earlier, the ministry submitted a draft legislative amendment to the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, which would ban religious associations directed by countries that threaten Estonia’s public order,…
The four policy priorities of Latvia’s coalition government in 2025 are “security, support for families, economic growth, and reducing bureaucracy,” Prime Minister Evika Silina announced, LSM reports. She will begin individual meetings with ministers to discuss the priorities, according to LETA. Silina said that national security remained the government’s most pressing priority, highlighting the need…
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…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has approved the country’s new cabinet of ministers, BNS reports. He described the incoming centre-left government as more capable than the outgoing centre-right government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte. The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) will hold the post of prime minister and will have nine ministers in the new government,…
Lithuania has introduced stricter rules on residence permit applications through external service providers as of 1 December 2024, BNS reports. From now on, only citizens of countries with an office of the external service provider can use their services. Citizens of other countries can apply for temporary residency permits at an office in another country…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, is discussing proposed amendments that would stop recognising Russian education certificates obtained after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, LSM reports. Under the amendments proposed by the opposition National Alliance, education certificates issued in Russia after 24 February 2022 would no longer be recognised in Latvia. National Alliance MPs…
Estonia’s Tallinn Administrative Court has overturned the government’s decision to extradite Estonian citizen Andrei Sevljakov to the US, ERR reports. The court pointed to concerns that detention conditions in US prisons may not meet humane standards. The court instructed the government to obtain assurances from the US that Sevljakov’s prison conditions will not be inhumane….
The Russian and Chinese social media networks, Telegram and TikTok, are being used widely to spread content that poses risks to Latvia’s national security, according to the State Security Service (VDD), BNS reports. Unwanted content on the platforms includes disinformation, propaganda, and recruitment to criminal activity. Moreover, the platforms fail to monitor or delete such…