Baltic: Politico ranks commissioners in outgoing European Commission

European news portal Politico ranked the performance of Lithuania’s EU commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, highest of the three Baltic members of the outgoing European Commission, ERR reports. The outlet gave Sinkevicius, who served as the European Commissioner for Environment in 2019-2024, a score of A minus. Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, who is staying on as EC Vice…

Read More

Baltic: Kallas, Dombrovskis, Kubilius named EU commissioners

The president of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, has presented her list of candidates for EU commissioners, ERR reports. Estonia’s former prime minister, Kaja Kallas, was named as candidate for EU’s foreign policy chief earlier. If confirmed by the European Parliament, she will be one of six EC vice-presidents. Meanwhile, von der…

Read More

Latvia: Rail Baltica costs need to be reduced: EC Vice-President

The Latvian government should seek to reduce the costs of the Rail Baltica railway project, the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with Latvijas Radio, Dombrovskis pointed out that not everything could be financed with EU funds. He said that part of the project should be financed from…

Read More

Lithuania: President urges EU accession talks with Ukraine in 2023

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged the EU to begin membership negotiations with Ukraine in 2023, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, Nauseda argued that a clear European perspective would inspire Ukrainians to continue fighting for their country. He said that Lithuania was ready to share its experience and…

Read More

Baltic: No EU subsidies for Ukrainian grain transport: EU Commissioner

The European Commission (EC) is not considering paying subsidies to cover the cost of transporting Ukrainian grain through Baltic ports, EC Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stated. Speaking in an interview with BNS, Dombrovskis said that the EC may provide financing for removing administrative or infrastructure bottlenecks, however. Also, the EC supported Lithuania’s proposal to move customs,…

Read More

Lithuania: EU Commissioner urges speedier execution of tax reform

Lithuania risks losing millions of euros in EU funds if key reforms, including a tax reform, are not implemented, European Commission (EC) Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis warned, LRT reports. Dombrovskis will discuss the progress of the tax reform package with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste in Vilnius on 7-8 September 2023. Dombrovskis…

Read More