Lithuania’s State Commission of the Lithuanian Language (VLKK) recently ordered the authorities in Vilnius district municipality to remove bilingual Lithuanian-Polish signs in the villages of Azulauke and Bieliskes, LRT reports. The municipality refused to comply and took the issue to the Administrative Disputes Commission, which found that VLKK’s order was unlawful and unfounded. Audrius Valotka,…
Estonia’s Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committe (ERJK) has asked six political parties whether they received services that may be classified as prohibited donations from the Liberal Citizen Foundation (SALK), ERR reports. ERJK sent the inquiries to current ruling coalition parties Estonian Reform Party, Estonia 200, the Social Democratic Party (SDE), as well as the opposition’s…
Estonia’s Ministry of Interior will propose banning the use of non-personalised prepaid SIM cards, ERR reports. Under the proposal, anyone would still be able to buy a prepaid SIM card, but would have to provide personal details to activate the card. Veiko Kommusaar, undersecretary for internal security at the Ministry of Interior, noted that Estonia…
Latvia’s Economy Minister, Ilze Indriksone, said that the state should not intervene in the food market, LSM reports. Earlier, Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits insisted that market intervention was necessary due to the high food prices. He suggested establishing a special regulator to monitor food prices in shops. Indriksone agreed that Latvia’s large supermarket chains, Maxima…
Latvia’s retail sector has had no competition, especially in grocery trade, for years, Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, Smits asserted that retailers could set markups of 300% plus VAT on local produce and still compete, which he said was “abnormal” and “unpatriotic.” He insisted that in such…
Latvia’s Riga City Council has obliged owners of outdoor sales and catering establishments to ensure that their sound equipment and musical instruments do not disturb local residents, LSM reports. Under the new rules, municipal police can impose limits on loud music in outdoor cafés, bars, and similar establishments. Violations can lead to fines of up…
Estonia needs proactive legislation to restrict “harmful foreign media outlets,” in addition to sanctions imposed on Russia, Andres Jõesaar, media adviser at the Estonian Ministry of Culture, stated, ERR reports. He conceded that the recent controversial proposal by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) to monitor media bias was “badly worded.” However, Jõesaar…
An administrative court in Latvia has upheld the decision of the National Electronic Mass Media Council (NEPLP) to annul the broadcasting license of the independent Russian TV channel, Dozhd (TV Rain), TVNET reports. Dozhd announced that it would appeal the ruling in all instances, including in the European Court of Human Rights if necessary. Dozhd…
Latvia’s Procurement Monitoring Bureau (IUB) has barred the state-owned provider of electronic communication services, Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), to continue procurement and sign contracts for mobile telephony services, LETA reports. IUB told LVRTC to change the procurement rules. Earlier, mobile telecommunications operator Bite Latvija complained about the terms of LVRTC’s procurement, saying…