On March 29, Latvia’s government approved the gradual increase of the defense budget to 2.5% of GDP in the next three years. The passed amendments to the Law on Financing National Defense provide for increasing the defense budget to no less than 2.25% of GDP in 2023. In 2024, the defense budget is planned to…
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has called on western partners to increase sanction pressure on Russia amid the attempts to introduce the ruble in the temporarily occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. This was stated on Twitter by Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko. “Faced with total resistance from the local population, Russia…
Lithuania has frozen funds worth 13.9 million euros due to EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, according to the latest figures from the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT). These include over 10.8 million euros, almost $3.4 million and more than 645,000 Russian rubles. Almost 0.9 million euros and over $200,000 have been frozen over the…
Some 50.3% of Lithuanians have donated money or found other ways to help Ukraine, according to a recent poll commissioned by the Baltic News Service (BNS). Published on March 29, the survey found that 29% of respondents donated money through non-governmental organizations, 15.7% donated various goods, as well as provided accommodation and contributed in other…
Customs Service has launched an online trade facilitation tool (ITC-WCO Rules of Origin Facilitator), which allows for the identification of information related to trade agreements, customs duties applicable according to the final destination, rules of origin specific to each product, as well as information on certificates of origin. The online search system was launched by…
The ruling coalition in Latvia has decided to discontinue issuing residence permits in exchange for purchase of real estate property and other investments, said Latvian PM Krisjanis Karins after a meeting of coalition parties on March 28. Karins stressed that the coalition had decided to discontinue this “golden visa” program, which allowed people to acquire…
In addition to expenses tied to refugee accommodation and civil protection, Estonia’s supplementary state budget aims to bolster energy security. Plans are in place to develop capacity to handle large quantities of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with investments to connect small renewable energy producers to the grid also on the table. The coalition is still…