Baltics

Indexo plans to acquire the pension management company Vairo

The financial services group Indexo has reached an agreement with the pension management company Vairo on a share purchase transaction, according to an announcement to the Nasdaq Riga Stock Exchange. [..]

New apartment block in Saliena, Turaidas Street is being developed with EUR 3.1 million financing from Signet Bank

A residential quarter with a park – the low-rise residential complex ParkLife Apartments – is being actively developed in Saliena, Turaida Street, and Latvia’s leading investment bank Signet Bank has [..]

Lithuanian leaders taken to shelters due to airspace violation by Belarus

Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Seimas Speaker Saulius Skvernelis were taken to shelters on Thursday following a violation of Lithuanian airspace from Belarus. Initial reports suggested that a Shahed [..]

International Civil Aviation Organization tells Russia to stop GNSS interference

The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is calling on Russia to cease interference with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals, which have affected aircraft, ships and drones [..]

Bite Latvija plans to install 60 new base stations and upgrade 210 existing ones this year

Information and communication technology services provider Bite Latvija plans to install 60 new base stations and upgrade 210 existing ones this year. By the end of 2025, the company aims [..]

Ignitis Group CEO: Lithuania could have its first Baltic Sea wind farm by 2031 – 2033

Lithuania may have its first offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea between 2031 and 2033, according to Darius Maikštėnas, CEO of the state-controlled energy company Ignitis Group. “One [farm] [..]

Lithuanian PM: Honorary consuls should actively help attract foreign specialists

Honorary consuls should play an active role in attracting investment and skilled workers from Asian, Latin American, and African markets, Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas told the country’s diplomats on [..]

More international students choosing Estonia for university

This fall, more international students are expected to begin studies at Estonian universities than in recent years, with the largest numbers coming from Azerbaijan and Ukraine and strong interest in [..]

Signet Bank Group closes Q1 with strong loan portfolio and profit growth

Signet Bank Group (hereinafter – the Group) reported strong financial results in the first quarter of 2025. The Group’s loan portfolio grew by 16% to EUR 243 million compared to [..]

Consumer confidence gap between rich and poor wider than ever in Estonia

According to the Estonian Institute of Economic Research, Estonia’s economic situation has improved somewhat, however, the gap between the confidence of the country’s richest and poorest consumers has never been [..]

Alleged Estonian human trafficker detained at Lithuanian border after Poland boosts checks

An Estonian citizen allegedly transporting migrants who entered the EU illegally via Belarus was detained on the Poland–Lithuania border on Monday by Polish border guards. Poland introduced additional checks on [..]

Tallinn’s reunited coalition to abolish kindergarten fees from September

According to Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski, during its meeting on Monday, Tallinn City Government decided to send a draft decree to the city council for approval, which would abolish attendance fees [..]

Survey: 14% of people in Latvia plan to spend €501 – €1,000 on travel this year

14 percent of people in Latvia are planning to spend between EUR 501 and EUR 1,000 on travel abroad or within the country this year, according to a survey commissioned [..]

PPA: Helicopter crashes into sea near Estonia’s Saaremaa island

A helicopter crashed into the sea off the Estonian coast on Sunday morning. The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) said there were no casualties. The PPA was notified of [..]

Preparations begin for environmental impact assessment of Estonia–Latvia submarine cable

Estonia’s transmission system operator, Elering, has submitted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) program for the planned marine section of the Estonia–Latvia electricity interconnection to the Estonian Consumer Protection and Technical [..]

Fifth Estonian volunteer soldier killed in Ukraine

An Estonian volunteer fighting in Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade was killed in action last week near Borova in Kharkiv region, his unit confirmed Thursday. Alo Klaassepp, 25, was killed on [..]

Experts overlook the purpose of Lithuania’s tax reform, highlight risks to personal income tax collection

With Lithuania’s Finance Ministry forecasting that the latest tax reform will contribute around 340 million euros to the Defense Fund next year and more than 500 million euros annually in [..]

Signet Bank grants €2.6 million in funding to AJ Power Corporate Group for energy storage technology development

Signet Bank has provided €2.6 million in funding to AJ Power Corporate Group, one of the leading private capital groups in Latvia, operating in the energy and waste management sectors. [..]

Latvia offers Estonia stake in airBaltic matching terms offered to Lufthansa

The Estonian government will on Thursday begin discussions on a proposal from Latvia’s Ministry of Transport to acquire a stake in the airline airBaltic. Both Estonia and Lithuania are expected [..]

Hanner and BaltCap complete transaction to take over national stadium project in Vilnius

Lithuanian real estate development company Hanner, which is taking over the national stadium project in Vilnius, and investment company BaltCap have completed the transaction to acquire the shares of the [..]

‘Master Chef Estonia’ winner starts petition for lower VAT on food

Jana Guzanova, winner of the first season of “MasterChef Estonia,” has launched a public initiative aimed at drawing politicians’ attention to the absurd rise in food prices — a trend [..]

Justice chancellor: State agencies can access banking secrets without rules

The Office of the Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has found that government agencies have been accessing account holders’ banking information through the enforcement register without a proper legal basis. [..]

Finance minister: Talking about rising prices as foolish as cursing bad weather

Prices are not under government control, nor can the government cause or contain inflation, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi (Reform) told ERR as a response to the latest inflation figures. Finance [..]

Oil Recovery wins three-year public tender for ship-generated waste management at the Port of Riga

Oil Recovery, a subsidiary of Eco Baltia, has won a public procurement tender announced by the Riga Freeport Authority for the provision of ship-generated waste and polluted water reception and [..]

U.S. fintech giant Robinhood establishes its first European cryptocurrency hub in Lithuania

“In Europe, Robinhood has launched a dedicated cryptocurrency trading platform through its Lithuania-based entity, Robinhood Europe, marking a significant milestone in the company’s global growth strategy,” Investuok Lietuvoje (Invest Lithuania), [..]

Flights between Vilnius and Tel Aviv partially resumed

One of the three regular flights between Vilnius and Tel Aviv was resumed on Sunday night after the military conflict between Israel and Iran ended with a ceasefire, Lithuanian Airports [..]

Swedbank and EIF to lend up to EUR 300 million to Baltic businesses and individuals

Swedbank, one of the largest commercial banks in Lithuania, and the European Investment Fund (EIF) will jointly provide up to EUR 300 million in loans to businesses and residents across [..]

250-seat Italian restaurant LaBocca opens in downtown Tallinn at a cost of 1.3 million euros

The Italian restaurant LaBocca opened its doors in the Golden Gate building in Tallinn’s Rotermann district on Friday. A total of 1.3 million euros has been invested in the new [..]

Meteorologist: Volatile weather could haunt Estonia for most of the summer

At the moment, weather models show no signs of a prolonged warm period on the horizon, although with a bit of luck, real summer warmth could arrive in the second [..]

Lithuanian President discusses truce in Middle East

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said that if a truce between Israel and Iran holds, then that will deal a blow to the so-called axis of evil. “We see Iran [..]

New hotel to be built in Lithuania

A new Hilton hotel and spa worth EUR 65 million will be built on the shores of the Baltic Sea in the Giruliai area near Lithuania’s western town of Klaipeda, [..]

Latvia to boost investment in European Space Agency

The government of Latvia on Wednesday gave its OK to a proposal from the Ministry for Education and Science to invest an additional EUR 4.9 million in the programmes of [..]

Lithuanian parliament to vote on property and income tax changes, as well as pension reform

The Lithuanian parliament is expected to hold a final vote on Thursday on changes to property and personal income tax rates, set to take effect in 2026, as well as [..]

An agreement has been reached to strictly regulate the distribution of additional funding for medics’ salaries

Medical institutions providing state-funded inpatient healthcare services will now follow uniform guidelines for increasing pay to their medical staff, according to amended Cabinet regulations approved by the government. From now [..]

Vehicles no longer allowed to park or stop on sidewalks for loading starting July

Starting in July, vehicles will no longer be allowed to park or stop on sidewalks for loading and unloading goods. The legislative amendment is intended to improve pedestrian traffic safety [..]

Estonians postpone expensive dental procedures as cost of living spirals

Long waiting lists for orthodontic treatment have been a source of complaints for years, but now those queues are disappearing in Tallinn. Dentists are also seeing a decline in workload, [..]

Electricity prices in Lithuanian at lowest level since April 2024

The average wholesale price of electricity on the Nord Pool exchange’s bidding area in Lithuania dropped by 41% last week from the week before, to EUR 37/MWh. This was down [..]

Balts prefer local tourism this year

People in the Baltic States are planning this summer to mostly travel within their own countries or neighbouring countries. This has been made clear in a survey that was commissioned [..]

Ministry wants to keep mail delivery on five days a week

According to a draft amendment by the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, the requirement to deliver mail to people’s homes five days a week would remain in place going [..]

Lithuanian President invites Cyprus to open embassy

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has invited Cyprus to open its Baltic embassy in the Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius. “I am aware of Cyprus’ plans to establish an embassy in [..]

Ryanair to add more flights to Palanga-London route

The Irish no-frills airline Ryanair has announced that at he end of October, it will start operating seven flights a week from the Lithuanian seaside resort of Palanga to London, [..]

66% of Latvians have considered career change during last five years

Almost two-thirds of people in Latvia (66%) report having considered a career change during the past five years. This was reported by the P&C Insurance company to LETA on the [..]

Political prisoner freed from Belarus: No one should experience such conditions

Allan Roio, an Estonian citizen who was freed from a Belarusian prison on Saturday with the help of U.S. diplomatic efforts, said upon arriving in Estonia that no one should [..]

A 126-ton giant transformer arrived at largest battery park in continental Europe

A key milestone has been reached in the construction of the largest battery park complex in continental Europe. In mid June, a 126-ton transformer was successfully delivered to the Kiisa [..]

Next US ambassador: Estonia has been called ‘megaphone for American requests’

During his nomination hearing before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week, Roman Pipko, President Donald Trump’s nominee for the next U.S. ambassador to Estonia, praised Estonia’s defense spending, [..]

Our goal is to establish not one, but two new training areas, said the Lithuanian Vice Minister

Lithuania aims to establish not one, but two new military training areas, Defense Vice Minister Orijana Masale said, as the Environment Ministry identified seven potential sites for a new training [..]

Linstow Baltic completes Satekles Business Center

Real estate developer Linstow Baltic has completed the Satekles Business Centre, a 13,500-square-meter A-class office complex in Riga, built at a cost of EUR 36 million, the company informed LETA. [..]

Tallinn ranks among the world’s top 60 conference cities

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has released its 2024 global rankings for cities and countries in the conference industry. Tallinn has climbed to 57th place among cities worldwide, [..]

Latvia and Cyprus commit to constructive cooperation during Cyprus’ upcoming EU Council Presidency

President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides paid his first official visit to Latvia, emphasizing the strong and growing partnership between the two EU member states. During the visit, Christodoulides underlined that [..]

First of its kind in Estonia €104-million central hospital opens in Viljandi

While a much talked-about central hospital in Tallinn has been mired in politics for several years, the South Estonian town of Viljandi now has a county hospital, the first to [..]