Belarus has deployed military equipment and troops to its border with Lithuania, according to the OSINT monitoring group, Belarusian Hajun, RBC-Ukraine reports. The group said that the Armed Forces of Belarus (USRB) had transferred a tactical group of the 19th Mechanised Brigade to the Hudahaj station in Hrodna region, just seven kilometres from the border…
Estonia’s Interior Ministry needs EUR 40mn to complete the deployment of infrastructure on the country’s border with Russia by the end of 2025, Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets estimated, ERR reports. He said that the infrastructure included fencing, technological equipment, access roads, and communication systems. The overall cost could rise to EUR 100mn if the government…
The three Baltic States have granted temporary protection to altogether 158,985 Ukrainian nationals fleeing the war, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Lithuania had granted temporary protection to 79,085 Ukrainian refugees at the end of July 2024, compared to 46,080 in Latvia and 33,820 in Estonia. The share of Ukrainian refugees in relation to the…
Lithuania should aim to raise its defence budget to 4% of GDP, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas stated, BNS reports. He said that this would allow Lithuania to maintain existing capabilities and acquire long-range air defence systems and combat helicopters. Earlier, President Gitanas Nauseda urged to raise defence spending to at least 3.5% of GDP. Lithuania’s…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics will pay a visit to the US on 17-27 September 2024, LSM reports. He will lead a Latvian trade delegation to California, visiting major technology companies, including Google, Groq, Meta, and OpenAI, as well as NASA’s Ames Research Center. Also, Rinkevics will take part in a roundtable discussion at Stanford University….
Latvia’s banking association, Finance Latvia Association (FNA), opposes a proposed windfall tax on local banks, LETA reports. The association argued that the tax was “disproportionate, short-sighted, and nontransparent.” FNA warned that the tax would have negative long-term consequences, hampering Latvia’s growth, competitiveness, and attractiveness for private investment. The tax would oblige the financial sector to…
Lithuania has joined the US-led international initiative on strengthening cyber security, BNS reports. The initiative aims to counter the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware. Lithuania is the first of the three Baltic States to join the initiative, which was first announced at the second Summit for Democracy.
Latvia’s opposition United List will not try to topple the current coalition government for now, Edgars Tavars, chairman of the party’s parliamentary group, said, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Tavars noted that Prime Minister Evika Silina’s government had a “slight advantage” of votes in the parliament, the Saeima. Tavars said that United…
Estonia’s liberal opposition party, Right-Wingers (Parempoolsed), has re-elected former prosecutor general Lavly Perling as its chairperson, ERR reports. She was the only candidate to the post. Perling labelled the current three-party government a “coalition of three socialists,” criticising the government’s tax policies. However, all current parliamentary parties had made “baseless promises” and taken part in…
