Relations between Finland and Estonia are stronger than ever, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated, ERR reports. Speaking at a joint press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Tallinn on 5 July 2023, Orpo noted that the two countries had strong cultural ties, and that their values and understanding of reality were very…
Latvia’s now former president, Egils Levits, believes that he did important work during his presidency, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Levits noted that his work had not been easy, but that popularity was never his priority. He said that Latvia’s national security and nation state had been strengthened during his presidency. Levits…
Lithuania’s government has approved an updated state border protection plan adapted to new threats, Baltic News Network reports. The Interior Ministry said that the updated plan would ensure timely and operational reinforcement of forces at the border, without the need for additional inter-agency coordination, in the event of a high threat level. The plan establishes…
The situation on Lithuania’s borders with Belarus and Russia is quite calm ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Rustamas Liubajevas, commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), announced, The Baltic Times reports. He said that while there was no additional activity of Belarusian or Russian border guards at the moment, VSAT officers were…
Lithuania has reintroduced border control measures, which will remain in place until the end of the NATO summit in Vilnius, BNS reports. Border checks will be carried out from 8am on 7 July 2023 until 8am on 13 July 2023. Travellers crossing internal EU borders will have to present a valid travel document and third-country…
Estonia’s Defence Minister, Hanno Pevkur, voiced satisfaction at the details of NATO’s new defence plans for the Baltic region, ERR reports. He said that there were no outstanding points of contention regarding the plans ahead of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. Discussions continued over the wording of the introductory section of the…
NATO’s new defence plans for the Baltic region are “very good and detailed,” Latvia’s Defence Minister, Inara Murniece, stated, The Baltic Times reports. The new plans provide for allied defence of the region from day one of a possible attack. Murniece noted that the plans were drawn up 18 months ahead of schedule. However, executing…
The presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland — Egils Levits, Gitanas Nauseda, and Andrzej Duda — have sent a joint letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and leaders of NATO member states to warn them of the threats posed by the developments in Belarus, BNS reports. In the letter, the three presidents pointed out…
A significant quantity of chemicals of unknown origin was discovered during an inspection of the property of Lithuania’s Public Security Service (VST) in Kaunas, according to the Ministry of Interior, DELFI reports. Arunas Paulauskas, deputy head of VST, said that the chemicals were originally transferred to VST by the Kaunas Prosecutor’s Office for storage and…