Latvian ministers informally discussed the possibility of cancelling the Rail Baltica railway project but decided against such a move, Prime Minister Evika Silina revealed, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Silina said that the government concluded that abandoning the project would result in a significant loss of invested resources. Moreover, the project will…
Estonia’s state-owned Nordic Aviation Group (NAG) has filed bankruptcy applications for the Nordica and Regional Jet (Xfly) airlines, ERR reports. NAG decided to file for bankruptcy after Danish entrepreneur Lars Thuesen, minority shareholder of Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, announced that he would not acquire Nordica due to the high business risks involved. Earlier, Nordic…
The first ship carrying Latvia’s strategic oil reserves arrived at the Freeport of Riga on 2 December 2024, the Ministry of Economy announced, LETA reports. Economy Minister Viktors Valainis said that the state would purchase 20% of the required reserves annually. The state would thus be in possession of 100% of the oil reserves in…
The Latvian government has approved new regulations under which transport and related infrastructure, signs, and information must be in Latvian and, if needed, in another official EU language, LSM reports. The new rules will thus preclude such signs in Russian. Justice Minister Inese Libina-Egnere said that the new rules would create a more attractive environment…
Latvia needs to set a maximum price cap on the Rail Baltica railway project, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, LETA reports. Speaking at a meeting of a parliamentary committee of inquiry on the project, Silina stressed that the biggest problem right now was funding. She said that the Ministry of Transport was “painting visions” and…
Estonia’s Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture has established a task force to consider a possible new location for Tallinn Bus Station, ERR reports. One potential location could be next to the future Rail Baltica railway terminal in Tallinn’s Ülemiste district. However, Hannes Luts, chairman of the task force, noted that the area was mostly…
The crash of Spanish air carrier Swiftair’s cargo plane in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, on 25 November 2024 may have been caused by a technical fault or pilot error, LRT reports. One crew member perished in the incident. Surviving crew members had no indication of foul play, and investigators have found no evidence of terrorism….
Several well-known politicians in Latvia were employed as fake consultants by Riga’s municipal public transport company, Rigas Satiksme, according to LTV’s De Facto programme, LETA reports. A court in Riga has accepted Rigas Satiksme’s plea deal, which identifies 16 fictional consultants, including several members of the company’s board and municipal councillors. Some of them represent…
The Latvian government will invest an additional EUR 47mn in the state-owned railway company, Latvijas Dzelzcels (LDz), LSM reports. The capital will allow the company to pay all its tax debts and some outstanding bills for services. The state has invested EUR 95.6mn in LDz since 2020 to prop up the company’s finances. LDz has…