Monday, June 24, 2019
President Kersti Kaljulaid was in Germany Tuesday, meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, where she discussed the Estonian e-state, Ukraine, Russia and spoke at a high-level conference. The visit was the first stop-off on a three-nation set of official trips, which will take her to Slovenia and U.S. later this week. President Kaljulaid was a keynote speaker at the “Day of German Industry” conference, the Federation of German Industries’ (BDI) main…
A meeting of Foreign Ministers and other representatives of the countries around the Baltic Sea littoral met in Jūrmala, Latvia June 3 for the concluding meeting of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) before it is passed on to Denmark on the 1st of July. After what were described as “fruitful discussions” by organizers, two documents named the Jūrmala Declaration and Roadmap were adopted, marking the way forward for reform of the…
Due to suspicions of corruption, there is a risk Latvia will have to repay 10.95 million euros allocated from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to the project for construction of Ventspils Music School, according to comments from the Central Finance and Contracting Agency’s (CFLA) official Daiga Reihmane, reported by the LETA newswire. She confirmed that upon receiving information about possible corruption in relation to the Ventspils Music School project, payments have been suspended. “As…
President-elect Egils Levits has offered the post of the head of the State Chancellery to ambassador Andris Teikmanis, who has accepted the offer and will start working in the new job on July 8. Levits’ media advisor Aiva Rozenberga informed LETA that the post of the president’s advisor on foreign affairs has been offered to ambassador Solveiga Silkalna, and she, too, has accepted the offer and will start working in…
In a meeting of Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu with his Latvian counterpart Edgars Rinkevics on the sidelines of a meeting of the Council of Baltic Sea States in Latvia on Monday, the Estonian minister said that the actions of Russia in Ukraine constitute a direct attack on Ukraine’ sovereignty and require a response from the European. Speaking about Russia’s continued actions in Ukraine and its decision to expedite the application…
Lithuanian President-elect Gitanas Nauseda says he wants to take an active part in the state budget planning process from an early stage. “I’d like to be a president who gets actively involved with his team from the very beginning, rather than being brought in in the final stages of budget deliberation,” he told journalists on Tuesday. Nauseda said he discussed this issue with Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis last week. “As an economist, I…
The lack of clarity with Brexit processes has halted millions-worth investment plans in Alytus, a city in Lithuania’s southern parts, Lithuanian public media LRTreports. British company Sofa Brands, which manufactures furniture upholstery, had plans to build a plant in Alytus Industrial Park. The planned investments were estimated around five million euros. However, Lithuanian banks have refused to finance the British company’s expansion plans, pointing towards the uncertainty that surrounds UK’s exit from…
On May 4, Latvian weight-lifter Ritvars Suharevs won gold at the World Junior Championship in Fiji. Suharevs, who competed in the 81 kilogram weight category, lifted an overall of 251 kilograms, coming 3 kilograms short of a personal record. The Latvian weightlifter lifted 152 and 156 kilograms in snatch, but failed to lift 162 kilograms, his previous record. The score, however, was enough to secure him a small gold medal in…
This year, 13 schools and other educational institutions will be closed, while another 40 educational institutions will be affected by reorganization of one form or another, such as merger with another school, according to information released by the Ministry of Education and Science. Some of the schools on the list are in rural areas where student numbers are small or have all but vanished, while other schools in urban areas face being merged. Evening schools, boarding…
The foreign ministers of Estonia and Latvia during their meeting on the sidelines of a Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) meeting in Latvia on Monday discussed, among other things, tax policy concerning excise goods and were unanimous about the need for consultations on the subject between the ministries of finance of both countries. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics congratulated his Estonian counterpart Urmas Reinsalu on taking up the post…
