Estonia will chair the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) in 2025, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna announced, ERR reports. He said that Estonia’s primary objective would be to share its know-how in building an e-state. Also, Estonia’s chairmanship would focus on values of openness, transparency, access to information, and inclusion, Tsahkna added. The FOC is a group…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that he would urge the foreign minister of the next government to conduct an audit at the Foreign Ministry, BNS reports. Nauseda said that he would recommend that the ministry carry out a financial and a comprehensive performance audit. He implied that there may have been improprieties in the competition…
The National Audit Office of Estonia (Riigikontroll) found significant errors in the 2023 state budget act despite the overall accuracy of the state’s financial accounts, ERR reports. Key issues included incorrect recording of transactions in the budgets of the ministries of economy, regional affairs, and agriculture, leading to a discrepancy of EUR 122mn. Additionally, the…
The Latvian government made a decision in 2015 to include international railway stations at Riga Central Station and Riga International Airport (RIX) in the Rail Baltica project, according to the Ministry of Transport, LETA reports. The then government approved a plan to build the project’s most complex objects first so that they would be available…
Estonia ranked best and Latvia worst in the Baltic States on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, LSM reported. Estonia ranked 12th out of 180 countries worldwide in 2023, which was up from 14th place in 2022. Lithuania ranked 34th (33rd) and Latvia 36th (39th). Estonia scored 76 points on the index in 2023, which…
The Estonian nation has never been extinguished despite having once lost independence through occupation and oppression, Estonia’s President, Alar Karis, stated, ERR reports. Speaking on Estonia’s 32nd Independence Restoration Day, Karis said that the Estonian state was founded on “liberty, justice, and the rule of law,” in that order. He said that freedom constituted the…
The European Commission’s latest rule of law report urges Estonia to adopt legislation to improve the regulation of political party financing, BNS reports. The report raises concern that there are no transparent and objective rules on the financing of civil society organisations by the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, from the state budget. Also, the report…