New EU sanctions have forced the Russian-owned supermarket chain, Mere, to close down its discount stores in Latvia and Lithuania, LETA reports. The EU’s latest package of sanctions against Russia lists the companies operating the Mere chain, and their majority owner, Russian businessman Sergey Shnayder. They were sanctioned for supporting activities that undermine Ukraine’s territorial…
The city council of Estonia’s mostly Russian-speaking northeastern border town of Narva has elected the Estonian Centre Party’s Jaan Toots as the city’s new mayor, ERR reports. Toots replaced Katri Raik, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote after one city councillor defected from Raik’s Respect alliance to the Centre Party’s coalition partner, Plan B,…
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys criticised concessions to Russia in the EU’s latest sanctions package, BNS reported. He lamented that EU sanctions policy decisions were “increasingly driven by the economic interests of member states,” limiting the EU’s ability to increase pressure on Russia and weakening the impact of sanctions overall. Earlier, Lithuania’s EU ambassador, Nerijus…
The EU should ban the entry of over a million Russians for their involvement in the war of aggression against Ukraine, Estonia’s Interior Minister, Igor Taro, stated, BNS reports. Estonia has thus far added thousands of names to the list of individuals barred from entering the Schengen Area. Speaking in an interview with Kuku Raadio,…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has turned to the State Security Service (VDD) over Hungarian banking group OTP Bank’s plan to acquire the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, LSM reports. He noted that the statement of intent on the possible acquisition was just the start of the process, adding that regulatory approval for the deal would…
Hungarian banking group OTP Bank’s operations in Russia raise “legitimate questions” about its ​planned acquisition of the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, Lithuania’s central bank, the Bank of Lithuania, stated, Reuters reports. Earlier, OTP Bank announced that it had signed an agreement to buy Estonia-based Luminor. The Bank of Lithuania said that the European Central…
Hungary’s OTP Bank has signed an agreement to acquire the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, from US-based private equity fund manager Blackstone and Norway’s DNB Bank, Baltic News reports. OTP Bank had already expressed interest in acquiring Luminor several years ago, LETA reported. Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltic States….
Latvia and Lithuania and six other EU member states have joined Estonia’s call to ban EU funding for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ERR reported. Earlier, the IOC executive committee provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to return to international competitions under the Russian flag. Under the Estonian proposal,…
Lithuania’s new government is not expected to make any major changes in foreign policy, LRT reports. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius named regional security, Baltic cooperation, and strengthening ties with the US as his priorities, BNS and The Baltic Times reported. The government calls for a more united Europe, while maintaining strategic partnerships with Germany, Poland,…
