After long resistance from Turkey and the end of Hungary’s stalling tactics, Sweden will become a member of NATO. Experts say this will make it easier to plan for security in the Baltic Sea, but could also leave the Baltic states on the border between the two commands. Sweden’s accessionContinue Reading
On Friday, March 1, the Lielvarde military airfield in Latvia became the third NATO base where allied fighters conducting the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission over Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will be stationed. The Lielvarde base became the new location for NATO fighters as the Ämari Air Base in EstoniaContinue Reading
In Ukraine, the full-scale war has been going on for nearly two years. The front “lacks wildly” everything necessary, Latvian volunteer soldier under the nickname Ghost (Spoks), who has spent a year and a half defending Ukraine, said in an interview with Latvian Television’s “Today Question” on February 16. AfterContinue Reading
NATO is holding its largest exercise since the Cold War. Its aim is to send a message to Russia to keep its hands off NATO territory, Lithuanian Ambassador to NATO Deividas Matulionis has said. “90,000 troops on exercise is a record number. They are training all over the alliance, acrossContinue Reading
Latvia has elected a new president – making history the first openly gay head of state in Europe. The country’s parliament elected Edgars Rinkēvičs to be its next president, Reuters reported prime minister Krišjānis Kariņš saying. Rinkēvičs has spent a long time in Latvian politics, serving as the country’s ministerContinue Reading
In a Stalinist skyscraper which dominates the skyline of Latvia’s capital, dozens of elderly Russians wait to take a basic Latvian language test as a proof of loyalty to a country where they have lived for decades. Clutching red Russian passports, the participants, mostly women, read their notes for lastContinue Reading
The Baltic states will continue to send military aid to Ukraine, and support the sending of fighter jets, the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said at a meeting in Tallinn on Friday. Estonia is leading the Baltic cooperation formats this year and the trio discussed Ukraine, joint infrastructureContinue Reading
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland signed a joint agreement to depend on security cooperation and establish a new platform that spans the four countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) and his counterparts co-signed the document in Riga, Lavia on Tuesday. It “lays the foundation for a cooperation platformContinue Reading
No solutions to the current energy crisis can be expected for the next four years, although Russia cannot pressure the West forever, Economic Adviser to the President Kaspar Oja and economic experts Raivo Vare and Heidor Vitsur said on Vikerraadio’s “Välistund” on Monday. According to Vare, the G7’s announcement FridayContinue Reading
From 1 June onward the general water supply and sewer tariff in Riga will increase 22.4%, reaching 2.35 EUR/m3 instead of the current 1.92 EUR/m3, according to the decision made by the Public Utilities Commission. The water supply tariff will be 1.02 EUR/m3, which is EUR 0.17 more than itContinue Reading