An investigation into the outage of the EstLink 2 power interconnection between Estonia and Finland has so far found no “intentional external damage” in the undersea cable, Estonian transmission system operator Elering announced, ERR reports. The exact location of the fault and the specific cause of the outage remain to be determined, however. Finnish transmission system operator…
Lithuanians are the biggest supporters of Ukraine in the Baltic States, according to a Eurobarometer poll, BNS reports. As many as 95% of Lithuanians agree with providing humanitarian support to people affected by the war in Ukraine, compared with 91% in Latvia and 89% in Estonia. Another 93% of Lithuanians, 87% of Latvians, and 77%…
Latvia’s ruling coalition has agreed to ban imports of Russian and Belarusian grain, BNS reports. The coalition expects the parliament, the Saeima, to pass a bill on the ban in February 2024. Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze said that companies using Russian grain would be ineligible for state support. Also, the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD)…
Estonia and Latvia have joined several other countries in suspending funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), ERR and LETA reported. The move comes after allegations that several members of UNRWA’s staff had taken part in the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel on 7 October 2023. The Estonian and Latvian foreign ministries…
Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka (Tatyana Zhdanok) has been working for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for two decades, according to a joint investigation by Re:Baltica, DELFI, The Insider, and Expressen. Leaked documents reveal that Zdanoka reported to two different FSB handlers from at least 2004 to 2017. She submitted detailed reports on her work at…
Lithuania and Poland plan to hold joint military exercises in the so-called Suwalki Gap, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Vilnius, Nauseda suggested that the exercise could take place in April 2024. He said that the two countries would undertake joint measures to increase…
Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) has stopped over 5,000 shipments of goods for possible violation of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, LSM reports. VID has initiated more than 250 criminal cases over sanctions violations, including 114 in 2022 and 144 in 2023. Raimonds Zukuls, director of VID’s customs administration, said that most of the…
The EstLink 2 submarine power cable between Estonia and Finland went offline on the night of 25-26 January 2024, ERR reported. The cause and exact location of the outage are still unknown. Estonia’s transmission system operator, Elering, assured that there was no threat to the security of electricity supplies to Estonia. The EstLink 1 power…
The customs authorities of the three Baltic States have agreed on uniform application of EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, BNS reports. The directors of the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian customs departments agreed to introduce stricter controls on sanctioned goods exported to or transiting through Russia and Belarus to third countries. The measures include requiring…