Opinions

General Hodges pushes for completion of Rail Baltica to strengthen military mobility in the Baltic

Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis. The Baltic Sea region has been facing a series of growing challenges that highlight its geopolitical significance and the urgent need for enhanced security measures. [..]

A historic event is approaching – the Baltic States are breaking free from Russia’s electricity grid

By journalist Ain Alvela. On February 9, the Baltic States will disconnect their electricity grid from the Russian and Belarusian networks and join Europe’s unified energy system. This means that [..]

EBRD expects record investments in Lithuania this year

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested a record EUR 233 million in Lithuania in 2024, and it plans to maintain or even increase the level of investments [..]

Will cancelled airBaltic flights influence passenger loyalty, Latvia’s economy?

By journalist Inga Karlinska. The Latvian flag carrier airBaltic recently announced that it is cancelling 4,670 flights this summer. This has affected 67,160 passengers who, because of this decision, are [..]

Bank expert: Enough competition in Latvia’s banking sector

There is sufficient competition in the banking sector in Latvia, but it would not be proper to claim that it will not expand, LETA was told by the board chairman [..]

Price and Tax Increases to Cost Estonians Hundreds of Euros in 2025

By journalist Ain Alvela. The coming year brings several new tax increases in Estonia as price increases show no signs of slowing down. At the same time the government placed [..]

Jānis Bergs: We’ve put our foot into the door of the United States, and now we must open it more widely

Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis. One of Latvia’s largest business delegations visited the United States last autumn, led by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs. A wide range of businesspeople participated, seeking [..]

One hundred years of solitude

By Janis Taukacs, Sorainen partner. A new TV series based on the famous book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez has appeared on Netflix. What does this have to do with taxes? [..]

“MONK ECHO” – an Innovative Guitar Pedal, which breaks the traditional boundaries

Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis. The recent winners of the Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) competition “Idea Cup 2024,” Toms Lazdovskis and Matīss Tazāns, creators of the “MONK ECHO” [..]

State support for companies has to be considered carefully says Madis Müller

Global trends indicate that state support for some types of investment may also be needed for some sectors in Estonia said Governor of Eesti Pank Madis Müller at a seminar [..]

AO ПрицеВатер vs AS PriceWater in Bulgaria

Kalvis Vītoliņš, Lawyer and LCCI Representative in Uzbekistan. I occasionally post notes about the business environment. This story is about Bulgaria, which will fully join the Schengen Zone on January [..]

Small petrol companies losing market share in Latvia

The market share of small fuel traders in Latvia has been declining in recent years, says Jānis Viba, board chairman of the Virsi-A energy trading company which runs the Virsi [..]

BMW boss believes 2025 climate target for new cars is achievable

The boss of the German luxury carmaker BMW expects his company will be able to meet the climate targets for new vehicles in the coming year. “We have known the [..]

“Pro bono” Work – Beneficial for an Individual or an Example for Others

Filips Kļaviņš, Attorney-at-Law, Co-Founder and Senior Partner of the law firm Ellex Klavins. Notion pro bono (from the Latin pro bono publico) means a delivery of some professional service for [..]

Germany’s spy chief: Putin is banking on the failure of NATO

The head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service BND on Wednesday warned of increasing hybrid attacks by Russia on Germany and the NATO defence alliance, with the underlying goal of testing [..]

Completion of Rail Baltica by the set deadline depends on the ability of the three Baltic States to cooperate efficiently and co-ordinately

Authored by journalist Ain Alvela. The construction of the Rail Baltica high-speed railway, designed to connect Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania with Europe, has entered the construction phase across all three [..]

Spanish basketball: a key pathway for young Baltic talent seeking international exposure

Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis. A month ago, the sports portal Sportacentrs.com published an article stating that in the 2024/2025 season, 38 Latvians, including three female coaches, represent teams in [..]

The labour market improved a little

Orsolya Soosaar, Economist at Eesti Pank. Wage growth accelerated to 8.1% in the third quarter and the purchasing power of the average wage increased further. Sectors where wages rose at [..]

Kristjan Svirgsden: Is the war in Ukraine really only 1,000 days old?

Kristjan Svirgsden, ERR front-line camera operator. The passage of time since the start of Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine has demonstrated both high and low points, for more than 1,000 [..]

Therapist shares tips to help weather Estonia’s dark season

In a recent appearance on Raadio 2’s “R2 Päev,” creative arts therapist Kadi Jaanisoo-Kuld said that fresh air, daylight and connection with loved ones can all help folks get through [..]

The Climate-Resilient Economy Act being drafted in Estonia is sparking opposition among industrial leaders

Article by Ain Alvela, Editor of TööstusEST. To meet the climate goals set by the European Union, Estonia’s Ministry of Climate has begun drafting legislation to support the green transition. [..]

Growth in borrowing has been led by private individuals in recent months

Taavi Raudsaar, Economist at Eesti Pank. Households are borrowing at quite a strong rate to buy houses and cars. The market for housing loans has been quite active despite the [..]

Navigating the NIS 2 Directive: An in-depth look at Lithuania’s cybersecurity landscape

Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis. The General Data Protection Regulation brought about many major legal changes in various sectors and businesses, but now another huge challenge has appeared to change [..]

Klaipėda LNG vessel operating under extremely mighty capacity

The Independence is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at Lithuania’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Klaipėda, and it is distinguished among such vessels because of its workload [..]

Latvian welfare minister: Migrants may be needed in workforce

Latvian Welfare Minister Uldis Augulis has told the LETA News Agency that the government must think more about keeping local residents in the labour market for as long as possible, [..]

Lithuanian president expects centre-left government: BNS Interview

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Monday that the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) has “clearly won” this past weekend’s parliamentary election, adding that a government formed by centre-left political [..]

Business freedom needs limiting in climate crisis

Marilin Eessalu, executive manager of NGO Estonian Green Movement; Halliki Kreinin, senior researcher at the Research Institute for Sustainability Helmholtz Potsdam (RIFS) Attempts to steer business activities towards more sustainable [..]

Economist: Estonia taking decisions which will harm economic well-being

Raul Eamets, chief economist at Bigbank, has said that economic forecasts published by the Bank of Estonia on Tuesday show that the government’s economic policy decisions will reduce the economic [..]

The future of Estonia’s forests – more protected areas, less logging, continuous cover forestry and wood for local industry only

Journalist’s Ain Alvela interview with Mikk Marran, the Chairman of the Management Board of the Estonian State Forest Management Centre (RMK), who thinks that the RMK’s development plan is placing [..]

Aviation expert Toomas Peterson: Securing Air Baltic’s future requires involving a core investor

Journalist’s Ain Alvela interview with an aviation expert Toomas Peterson, who thinks that involving a core investor should help alleviate the company’s financial concerns, enable the purchase or lease of [..]

Rostovskis: It’s time for politicians to hear the entrepreneurs at last

By journalist Inga Karlinska. Although entrepreneurs and organisations protecting their interests have been actively trying to draw attention of the government and politicians to the necessity to improve competitiveness of [..]

New ambassador promoting Latvia as travel destination

Latvia’s new ambassador to the Czech Republic, Vilmars Henins, says that he wants to look for ways of promoting Riga and Latvia in Czech travel plans as an attractive and [..]

Ambassador: Latvia, UK should focus on security, defence collaboration

Latvia’s new ambassador to the United Kingdom, Atis Lots, has told the LETA News Agency that Latvia and the UK should focus more on co-operation in the areas of security [..]

Economist predicts higher inflation in Lithuania in 2025

The SEB Bank expects Lithuania’s average annual inflation rate to rise to 3% next year because an increase in excise taxes on fuel in January, as well as anticipated hikes [..]

Expert discusses rental market in Tallinn

Offerings from Tallinn’s apartment rental market were far more varied at the beginning of this academic year than in the past, and that was because of a confluence of various [..]

On a mission to simplify managing companies’ finances: Latvian start-up “Tailwind Technologies”

Article authored by Viesturs Deksnis. One of the cornerstones in successful entrepreneurship is ability to plan cash flow correctly and supervise the entire playing field. Development of technology has opened [..]

Economic adviser: Claims of Estonia joining EU’s most expensive countries incorrect

The assertion by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI) that Estonia is moving towards becoming one of the five most expensive countries in Europe is inaccurate, according to the [..]

Owners: When deciding about subsidies for cultural buildings, Estonia prefers the wealthy

The Estonian Owners Association notes in its latest statement that the state favors the wealthy and influential when it comes to the payment of grants for culturally significant buildings. In [..]

“Silava” participates in the international boreal forest soil health experiment in Latvia

Forest soil improvement is relevant in many countries of the world. One of the projects created to achieve this measure is InBestSoil. This is an innovative project funded by the [..]

The EU and its allies must do more to curtail Russian influence in Europe

By journalist Inga Karlinska. EU-Russia tensions have been elevated since the latter’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and have gone downhill since Russia’s outright invasion of and war [..]

Affordable High-Speed Internet is Spurring Economic Growth and Boosting Small Businesses

Heather Boushey, Chief Economist, Investing in America Cabinet Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet is a cornerstone of the American economy and essential for economic growth. This is also a [..]

Lithuanians and Latvians have turned to old-fashioned sweets

The production of Karvutė (Latvian: Gotina) candy, which was very popular decades ago, is gaining momentum in the Baltics again. The Latvians are leading in this area, but Lithuanian producers [..]

The State Must Continue Creating Conditions to Support Science-Intensive Companies

Egita Aizsilniece-Ibema, Head of the Latvian Innovation and Technology Representation in Brussels Latvia can be proud of its talented and intelligent individuals, both in science and business. The most courageous [..]

Estonian law firm: Sugary drinks tax bill runs counter to EU law

An analysis by lawyers at the law firm Sorainen shows that the so-called sugary drinks tax bill runs counter to European Union law. Consequently, Sorainen filed a complaint with the [..]

Estonia’s Eesti Energia: Exchange price of electricity to decrease this summer

Increased solar energy production in the Baltics and reduced consumption during the summer will lower electricity exchange prices, although during hours when there is a shortage of affordable wind and [..]

BNS asks Lithuanian presidential candidates about foreign policy

Continuing a series of articles in which presidential hopefuls respond to questions posed by BNS, in the second part, we present the candidates’ responses on Lithuania’s foreign policy. We asked [..]

Kati Kusmin: we must develop our products and export them worldwide

Ain Alvela, Editor of TööstusEST, interview with Kati Kusmin, Chairman of the Management Board of The Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS). Kati Kusmin, which was recently created with the [..]

Eastern business sale price ‘doesn’t make us happy’ – Viciunai Group executive

As Viciunai Group, a Lithuanian fish and other food production and sale group partly owned by Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijosaitis, has recently sold its business in Russia, Belarus and other [..]

From economic point of view, Latvia has taken advantage of EU opportunities – Dombrovskis

From the economic point of view, Latvia has benefited from the opportunities offered by the European Union (EU) over the years, and despite the crises, we have come much closer [..]

Russia will continue to maintain confrontational relations with the West – SAB

In the short and medium term, Vladimir Putin’s regime will continue to maintain a confrontational relationship with the West, including, if necessary, by threatening to escalate the conflict, including by [..]

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