Current Pulse
World
Finnish Ministry of the Interior to prepare amendments to provisions on detention and entry bans in the Aliens Act
The Ministry of the Interior's project will examine the provisions on detention and entry bans in the Aliens Act. The aim is to tighten...
World
NATO Secretary General addresses first International Defence Industry Forum in Kyiv: there is no defence without industry
Addressing the first meeting of the International Defence Industry Forum in Kyiv on Friday (29 September 2023), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg paid tribute...
Lithuania
Vilnius court starts hearing case of man accused of spying for Belarus
The Vilnius Regional Court on Monday began hearing the case of Mantas Danielius, a Vilnius resident accused of spying for Belarus and witness tampering.
As...
Latvia
Latvia’s government’s tax policy proposals threaten existence of several industries – business organization
The tax policy proposals for 2024-2026 supported by the new government threaten the ability of several industries not only to compete, but also to...
Latvia
Foreign Ministry suspects politically motivated Russian targeting of Latvian citizens in CIS countries
Russia may have illegally initiated targeting of Latvian citizens in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) for political reasons, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign...
Estonia
Estonian member of Ukraine’s International Legion killed in Russian drone attack
An Estonian national fighting in the war in Ukraine was killed in a Russian drone attack in Eastern Ukraine in the early hours of...
Estonia
Estonia, Finland to start exchanging employment related data
Estonia and Finland are about to develop IT solutions for the exchange of data related to employment.
Estonia's Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo is...
Latvia
Cyber attacks in Latvia to remain high – Cert.lv
The number of cyber attacks in Latvia will remain high in the future, said Baiba Kaskina, head of the information technology security incident prevention...
Interviews
Georgian journalist – Pro-Western government key to Tbilisi’s EU candidate bid
Electing a pro-Western government could open the way for Georgia to secure EU candidate status, Nika Gvaramia, a Georgian pro-opposition journalist and television host,...
Lithuania
Security audit not key reason for tightening procedures at Vilnius Airport – operator
A recent security audit at Vilnius Airport is not the main reason for the tightening of aviation security and screening procedures which are causing...
Latvia
Bank of Latvia raises inflation forecast for 2023 to 9%
The Bank of Latvia's inflation forecast for 2023 has been revised to 9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in the June forecast, as the...
European Union
Economic Sentiment mildly lower in the EU and the euro area; Employment Expectations firmer in both regions
In September 2023, the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) dipped slightly again in both the EU (-0.4 points to 92.8) and the euro area (-0.3...
Estonia
Economic forecasts anticipating 2 pct GDP decline for Estonia this year
Estonia’s major economic forecasts for this year predict a gross domestic product (GDP) decline of around 2 percent.
According to the most recent economic forecast...
Lithuania
Several thousand Lithuanian teachers go on strike over pay in ‘cry for help’
Several thousand Lithuanian teachers launched a strike on Friday after their trade union and the Education Ministry failed to reach a deal on the...
Estonia
Estonia: Kersti Kaljulaid leaves Alexela supervisory board due to gas imports from Russia
Estonian ex-president Kersti Kaljulaid announced on Wednesday that she has left the supervisory board of energy group Alexela because the company is still importing...
Lithuania
Lithuanian footballers won’t play against Russians after UEFA lifts ban
The Lithuanian Football Federation says Lithuanian footballers will not play against the Russians after the UEFA Executive Committee on Tuesday decided to reinstate Russia's...
Latvia
Riga annuls 139 gambling permits
The Riga City Council last night made the decision to annul 139 gambling permits.
Alfor company will have the largest number of permits cancelled -...
Opinions
Governor of Eesti Pank: the economy is going to recover slowly
Governor Madis Müller says a quick recovery in Estonian economy is not to be expected, as purchasing power is improving at a slow pace...
Interviews
Vilnius cardiologist: Doctoral Studies are About Learning How to Learn
Dr. Rokas Šerpytis is a cardiologist at Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos, who successfully defended his dissertation Microcirculation Measurements in Critical and Non-critical Myocardial...
Latvia
Court of Appeal reduces Lembergs’ prison sentence by one year
The Riga Regional Court of Appeal on Wednesday found former Ventspils mayor and current Ventspils city council lawmaker Aivars Lembergs (For Latvia and Ventspils)...
Opinions
USA economist: The Economics of Public Investment Crowding in Private Investment
Heather Boushey, Chief Economist, Investing in America Cabinet
Introduction
President Biden’s economic vision—Bidenomics—is centered around making smart public investments, empowering and educating workers, and promoting fair...
Estonia
Estonia: Tallinn Airport’s winter schedule to include 40 direct routes
This winter, a total of 17 airlines will be operating direct flights out of Tallinn on 40 different routes.
The number of tickets on sale...
Lithuania
Lithuania’s unfavorable tax system deters highly qualified foreign workers – advisor
Lithuania's tax system discourages highly qualified foreign workers from coming to the country, while high-earning Lithuanian citizens opt to work abroad, Remigijus Simasius, a...
European Union
Anti-coercion instrument: the EU’s new weapon to protect trade
The anti-coercion instrument will be the EU’s new tool to fight economic threats and unfair trade restrictions by non-EU countries.
Why does the EU need...
Latvia
Latvia is ready to close the border with Belarus in case of mass influx of migrants – Rinkevics
Latvia is ready to close its border with Belarus in case of a massive influx of migrants, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics said at a...
Estonia
Estonian govt approves 2024 state budget
The Estonian government has approved the 2024 state budget and the state budget strategy for the next four years with next year's revenues amounting...
Lithuania
Twenty ex-Soviet communists serve in Lithuanian parlt, 2 declared this before elections
Twenty former members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) are currently serving in the Lithuanian parliament and two of them declared...
World
NATO jets in Baltic scrambled once to intercept Russian plane
NATO fighter jets, stationed in the Baltic states as part of the NATO air policing mission, were scrambled once last week to identify and...
Lithuania
Lithuanians lose trust in local govt after receipt scandal – survey
Almost half of Lithuania's population have lost trust in local government institutions since the so-called receipt scandal of allegedly shady payouts, according to a...
Latvia
Service investigation launched on army drone lost on Latvian-Russian border
Service investigation has been launched to establish the reason why a drone was lost on the Latvian-Russian border during military exercise at weekend, Defense...
Estonia
Survey: 8 in 10 Estonians perceive increase in numbers of financial fraud cases
According to a recent survey commissioned by Luminor, 79 percent of residents in Estonia feel that the number of financial fraud cases has increased...
Estonia
Estonian fuel seller Olerex suspected of submitting false information
The prosecutor's office on Thursday brought a suspicion against fuel seller Olerex and its board member Andres Linnas of submitting false information, the Estonian...
Lithuania
Number of foreigners living in Lithuania exceeds 200,000 1st time – department
The number of foreigners living in Lithuania has exceeded 200,000 for the first time in the country's history as 203,157 people from various foreign...
Latvia
Riga plans to cut tourist tax
Members of the Riga City Council Financial and Administration Affairs committee on Thursday endorsed the proposal to reduce the tax charged to hotels and ...
Opinions
Opposition MP: Estonia should put money aside during good times
Opposition Reform Party MP Aivar Soerd, member of the parliament's finance committee and former minister of finance, has said that the 11 billion euro...
World
Billions left behind on the path to Universal Health Coverage
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank have jointly published the 2023 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) Global Monitoring Report, revealing an alarming...
World
FATF-INTERPOL partnership: putting trillions in illicit profits back into legitimate economies
Two world leaders in tackling financial crime – INTERPOL and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) – came together this week to help police...
European Union
NextGenerationEU: Implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility firmly underway
The Commission has today adopted its second annual report on the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the €800 billion reform and investment tool...
Lithuania
Philip Morris yet to decide on changes to Klaipeda plant’s future
As tobacco consumption habits are changing around the world, Philip Morris International, an international tobacco manufacturing and trading company, is yet decide on the...
Estonia
Estonia: Elron’s train ticket sales disrupted due to cyber attack
Elron's train ticket sales are disrupted on Wednesday due to a cyber attack on the ticketing system.
The ticketing system provider is trying to resolve...
Latvia
Greens/Farmers politician Mierina voted in as Saeima speaker
MP Daiga Mierina (Union of Greens and Farmers, ZZS) was voted in as Saeima speaker on Wednesday.
Mieriņa was previously chairwoman of the Saeima's State...
Latvia
Latvia has highest prevalence of diabetes among Baltic states
Latvia has the highest prevalence of diabetes among the Baltic states, Indra Stelmane, President of the Latvian Diabetes Federation, informed today at the expert...
World
Deputy Secretary General welcomes NATO’s deepening partnership with Moldova
From 14 to 15 September 2023, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană is visiting Chişinău to discuss NATO’s deepening partnership with the Republic of...
World
Joe Biden: G7 plans to mobilize $600 billion for projects in low and middle-income countries by 2027
Statement from President Joe Biden on International Day of Democracy
When I came into office, it was clear that one of the defining questions of...
European Union
Creating a more stable, affordable and sustainable electricity market in EU
Parliament today gave the green light to start negotiations with Council to reform the EU’s electricity market.
The decision to open talks with member states,...
Lithuania
US-Lithuania cooperation has huge growth potential – Nauseda
US-Lithuanian economic cooperation has a huge potential for growth, President Gitanas Nauseda said at the US-Baltic Strategic Investment Summit in New York on Monday.
"Lithuania...
Estonia
Number of vacancies in Estonia slightly higher than during pandemic
The number of job offers in Estonia is a bit higher today than in 2019-2020, but still far from last year's all-time high, Lauri...
Latvia
Saeima approves Silina’s government
Saeima on Friday approved a new government led by Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity).
53 MPs voted to support the new government.
Three ministers in...
Lithuania
President strips Russian ice dancer Drobiazko of Lithuanian citizenship (expands)
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday signed a decree on stripping Russian ice dancer Margarita Drobiazko of her Lithuanian citizenship granted by way of...
Estonia
Eurostat: Young people in Estonia leave parental home earlier than most EU peers
In 2022, young people across the European Union left their parental home on average at the age of 26.4 years; in Estonia, the average...