Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, has refused to attend a joint session of the state budget and the anti-corruption select committees of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, on 29 August 2023, ERR reports. The committees will hold an extraordinary joint meeting to discuss the operations of Estonian businesses in Russia. Kallas has come under heavy…
Estonia is celebrating the 32nd Independence Restoration Day on 20 August 2023, Estonian World reports. Estonia formally restored its independence on 20 August 1991 during the failed Soviet coup attempt, reconstituting the pre-1940 Estonian state. The first country to recognise Estonia’s reclaimed independence was Iceland. The Estonian War Museum (ESM) has placed a giant Estonian…
Estonia should strengthen cooperation with Taiwan and consider opening a Taiwanese representative office (Taipei Mission) in Tallinn, Marko Mihkelson, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, stated, ERR reports. Speaking after a joint visit by the heads of the foreign affairs committees of Baltic parliaments to Taiwan, Mihkelson noted that…
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) announced his intention to end the current government coalition and form a new one, LSM reports. He said that New Unity’s current coalition partners, the National Alliance and the United List, had rejected his proposals for a ministerial reshuffle and revised policy priorities. Karins said that he would…
The chairmen of the foreign affairs committees of the Baltic parliaments — Marko Mihkelson from Estonia, Rihards Kols from Latvia, and Zygimantas Pavilionis from Lithuania — will pay a joint visit to Taiwan, ERR reports. They will meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Legislative Yuan president You Si-kun, Prime Minister Chen Chien-jen, Foreign Minister Joseph…
Estonia continues to push for an EU-wide ban on Russian tourists, ERR reports. Andres Siplane, chief sanctions expert at the Foreign Ministry, said that discussions on a wider ban on Russian tourism continued almost every day behind closed doors. He said that Estonia was talking to Georgia about the issue as well. However, it is…
The Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) remain the country’s most trusted institution, according to a new Baltijos Tyrimai poll for LRT. The survey showed that 76% of respondents had confidence in LGP in June 2023. Another 71% trust the police, followed by the Catholic church with 66%, the president with 66%, the State Social Insurance Fund…
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, will pay an official visit to Lithuania on 19 July 2023, BNS reports. Rinkevics will meet with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, and speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen. The officials will discuss the decisions taken at the NATO summit in Vilnius, regional and energy security, and…
The Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) has no intention to make any concessions and will continue to obstruct the current coalition government’s work in the parliament, the Riigikogu, in autumn 2023, EKRE chairman Martin Helme stated, ERR reports. Earlier, the coalition suggested that opposition parties withdraw questions and legislative proposals so as not to…
