Estonia has extradited Russian citizen Vadim Konoshchenok, suspected employee of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), to the US, BNS reports. Konoshchenok was arraigned at a federal court in New York on 14 July 2023. He is suspected of violating sanctions by smuggling strictly regulated electronics and tactical ammunition of US origin from Estonia to Russia….
Estonia’s Defence Minister, Hanno Pevkur, and UK Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace have signed a joint declaration on integrating British and Estonian forces, BNS reports. Under the plan, a British brigade due to be deployed in Estonia will operate within an Estonian division. Also, UK staff officers will be embedded into the command of the…
Newspaper and magazine sales in Estonia fell in June 2023 compared to the same period of 2022, according to data from the Estonian Association of Media Enterprises (EML), ERR reports. Õhtuleht sold 32,000 (35,000) copies, followed by Maaleht with 31,700 (33,600), Eesti Ekspress with 19,000 (20,600), and Eesti Päevaleht with 8,600 (10,000) copies. Postimees stopped…
The Estonian metal processing company, Freen, will invest EUR 5.9mn to begin manufacturing wind turbines at its factory in Kohtla-Järve, BNS reports. Estonia’s business support agencies, KredEx and Enterprise Estonia (EAS), will provide EUR 2.6mn of financial support for the project from the EU’s Just Transition Fund. Freen completed the construction of the first phase…
Inflation continues to fall in Estonia, Rasmus Kattai, economist at the Bank of Estonia, said, BNS reports. Kattai said that the drop was mostly due to the fact that prices for energy and most agricultural commodities were coming down. However, he noted that it took time for the effect of the lower prices to pass…
Estonian ticket sales platform Piletilevi Group will acquire majority ownership of Romania’s oldest ticket sales company, Departamentul Logistic Event (Bilete.ro), BNS reports. Under the deal, Piletilevi Group will acquire 80.2% of shares in Bilete.ro, with current shareholders retaining 19.8% ownership. Andreea Pop will continue as CEO of Bilete.ro, which employs 40 people. The company, which…
The number of new passenger cars and commercial vehicles sold in Estonia totalled 14,076 in the first half of 2023, which was 6.5% more than in the same period of 2022, according to data from the Estonian Transport Administration (Transpordiamet), Postimees reports. The number of passenger cars sold amounted to 12,236 (up 10%) and commercial…
The Baltic States should disconnect from the Russian-controlled BRELL power grid and synchronise with the European system as planned by the end of 2025, Kalle Kilk, CEO of Estonia’s electricity transmission system operator, Elering, stated, Postimees reports. Kilk noted that Russia provided the Baltic States with grid balancing services. Disconnecting from the Russian grid now…
The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELK) will temporarily suspend marriage registrations as of 1 January 2024, Postimees reports. Archbishop Urmas Viilma said that the decision was due to “practical reasons.” He noted that the church’s questions on what legislative amendments that legalised same-sex marriages meant in practice remained unanswered. He pointed out that members of…