At the end of 2022, the US Congress confirmed funding of $225 million towards their Baltic Security Initiative for the fiscal year of 2023, as confirmed by Latvia’s Ministry of Defence. All this funding will be diverted towards development of all three Baltic States’ military capabilities. In the fiscal year of 2022 the Baltic Security…
Riga Stradins University (RSU) reports that a NATO-backed study of Baltic-Chinese relations has concluded. This study focused on the public opinions of Baltic residents towards the far-away superpower. In the last decade China’s economic, military and political authority has increased very rapidly. This superpower’s influence is felt in regions within which this country had minimal…
In November, the average electricity price, when compared with October, increased by 20%, according to Latvenergo Electricity Market review. Last week the average electricity price went down by 51% in the Baltic States. A tendency for electricity prices to decline has been observed over the last two months. This changed in November: the price in…
The Baltic States and Poland on December 15 blocked the adoption of new sanctions for Russia over the exemptions for grain and fertiliser exports, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis reported. The exemptions proposed by Germany, France and the Netherlands could provide a loophole to circumvent sanctions, according to Landsbergis. “Half an hour ago, Lithuania and…
Meat producer HKScan will sell its Baltic subsidiaries to Estonia’s AS Maag Grupp for EUR 90 million, the company has announced. The transaction will likely close in the second half of 2023 and is subject to regulatory approvals in Estonia and Latvia. “The sale of the Baltic business will improve HKScan’s profitability and strengthen its…
On December 12, the European Commission and the Nordic Investment Bank signed the InvestEU guarantee agreement. The value of this agreement reaches EUR 114 million, as confirmed by the European Commission’s office in Latvia. This agreement will allow for attracting funding from the Nordic Investment Bank worth up to EUR 480 million for investments into…
The three Baltic countries agree on the need to raise defence spending to 3% of GDP. However, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia plan to achieve the target at their own pace. “Each country individually will increase the defence investment toward 3% of GDP,” Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins told reporters after meeting with his Lithuanian and…