Estonia is considering housing foreign prisoners in one of its prisons, Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta announced, BBC reports. Estonia’s three prisons in Tallinn, Tartu, and Jõhvi have room for around 1,000 additional prisoners, according to ERR. Pakosta estimated that the state could earn up to EUR 30mn per year from renting out prison space to…
Estonia’s former president, Kersti Kaljulaid, has decided to run for president of the Estonian Olympic Committee (EOK), BNS reports. Kaljulaid said that 25 EOK members had nominated her to the position. She said that the members had welcomed her ideas about the future of the organisation and Estonian sports. The deadline for candidate nominations is…
US presence in Europe and the Baltic region is the best deterrent against Russia, contributing to stability in the whole region, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking at the European Political Community summit in the UK, Nauseda said that if former US president Donald Trump won the US presidential elections in November 2024,…
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina urged European countries to “resist Russian evil,” saying that this would help increase security and prosperity in the continent, LSM reports. Speaking at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in the UK, Silina called on Europe to provide more military, financial, and political support to Ukraine. She said that European…
Several countries have expressed interest in renting Estonia’s empty prison space, according to the Ministry of Justice, ERR reports. A ministry official said that neighbouring countries had shown interest, and that European statistics indicated a demand for prison space. However, legislative amendments were needed before renting out prison space, the official added. Earlier reports suggested…
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the likely nomination of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO’s new secretary general raised the question of whether the alliance has first-rank and second-rank members, Politico reported. She pointed out that Rutte would be the fourth NATO chief from the Netherlands. “Are we equals or are we…
Estonia’s President, Alar Karis, has declared elections to the European Parliament to be held on 9 June 2024, ERR reports. Registration of candidates will begin on 10 April 2024 and early voting on 3 June 2024. Parties can nominate up to nine candidates each. Altogether 912,000 voters in Estonia are registered for the elections, ERR…
Lithuania’s permanent population totalled 2,886,500 people in the beginning of 2024, which was 29,000 (1%) more than in the same period of 2023, according to the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reports. Around 22,000 permanent residents emigrated from Lithuania in 2023, which was up 44% from 15,300 in 2022. Some 12,000 foreigners and 10,000 Lithuanian…
Spain has taken over NATO’s Baltic air policing mission from the UK’s Royal Air Force, BNS reports. RAF handed over responsibility for the mission to the Spanish Air and Space Force (EA) contingent at the Ämari Air Base in Estonia. EA will patrol the Baltic air space using Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. EA has participated…