Members of the national defence committee of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, visited Israel and called for closer ties between the two countries, ERR reported. The MPs condemned the Palestinian terrorist organisation, Hamas, and urged Palestinians to reject the group. The Estonian parliamentarians encouraged Israel to consider providing military aid to Ukraine. Also, they highlighted…
Polish farmers have begun a week-long partial blockade of the Lithuanian border, BNS reports. The farmers are protesting against the EU’s environmental policies and the import of Ukrainian agricultural products. Polish authorities, not the farmers themselves, will conduct official checks, focusing on the origin of grain, particularly potential Russian imports disguised as Ukrainian. The farmers…
The Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) has reassured the public on social media that there is no imminent threat of war, LRT reports. Responding to questions from the public, LGP noted that there was no concentration of military equipment on the country’s borders and no indication of an enemy’s intention to attack. The statement emphasised the…
The speakers of the parliaments of the three Baltic States visited Canada and the US to discuss regional security issues and cooperation, BNS reported. They met with with the speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, Greg Fergus, and members of the Canada-Nordic-Baltic Parliamentary Friendship Group. In the US, the Baltic speakers met with the speaker…
Latvia’s Foreign Ministry called on authorities to check whether the top management of major Latvian companies and organisations include any Russian, Belarusian, or other third-country nationals who support Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and who may have links to Russian state institutions, LETA reported. The ministry insisted that such persons should be subject to EU…
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%…
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…
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)…
The state-run development agencies of the three Baltic States have signed an agreement to increase bilateral and trilateral cooperation, ERR reports. The agreement will allow the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), Latvia’s Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFLA), and Lithuania’s Central Project Management Agency (CPVA) to share information and expertise more effectively. The three…