Baltics Worldwide

Wed, 15 May 2013, Sprudzs unhappy as Saeima votes to hold politicians above the law…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

This is a carefully thought-out position,” the minister said. He explained that with this action, he wishes to show that the May 9 vote - disappointing, in his words - by Saeima is a serious matter.

A Saeima majority voted down, in the second reading, a proposal to limit local government members’ powers if they are charged with serious crimes.
This means that Saeima members voted that if local government members are charged with serious crimes, they should be allowed to continue working in government, pulling the levers of power, and representing the people.

Black eye for Saeima
Sprudzs said that he is satisfied that …

Wed, 15 May 2013, Food aid grows…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

31, 699 tons of macaroni, 330 tons of four-grain cereal, 693 tons of wheat flour, 419 tons of rice, 369 tons of manna, 222 tons of buckwheat, 506 tons of sugar and 394,000 liters of rapeseed oil has to be delivered, the Agricultural Registries and Information Board (PRIA) announced.
Year after year, the amount of food aid, the number of organizations mediating it and the number of aid recipients has increased.

Charity organizations submitted applications to PRIA for the 2013 food aid a year ago already.
Nearly 4.9 million euros’ worth of food products were applied for, but the European Commission allocated Estonia 2.2 million eu…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Kidnapped Estonians part of al-Qaeda plot…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Two Lebanese soldiers were killed and several were injured in February when an army unit, dispatched to make an arrest in the case, was ambushed by gunmen in the eastern town of Ersal, according to an army statement.

Seven Estonian bicycle tourists were taken hostage in the Bekaa valley near Zahle on March 23 and were released after nearly four months, on July 14, 2011.

The book titled “Lebanon 2011” (in Estonian. “Liibanon 2011”) will be presented in the National Library in Tallinn. Publisher of the book, Tiit Pruuli, stated that on the basis of interviews with hostages and their notes, the book was written by…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Syrian unrest increases terrorist risk…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

The terror threat level in Latvia did not change in 2012 and remained relatively low. There were no terrorist attacks or related crimes in Latvia last year. Several factors were identified as potential terror threat facilitators in the future.
Last year, the Security Police gathered information about radicalization trends in Latvia’s Muslim community, but did not establish any factors facilitating terror threats.

Similarly to previous years, representatives of the controversial Tablighi Jamaat movement visited Latvia last year, as well as Muslim preachers from other European countries.
Analyzing Tablighi Jamaat activities in Lat…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Heat sector reform to start…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Costs for heating account for a significant part of the family budget; I think it is a problem of primary importance in the energy sector,” said Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius on May 13 after the State Strategy Planning Committee meeting.

According to the PM, after the assessment of heating development potential it was decided to set up a national heating facility modernization program. The modernization efforts are to be financed by the European Union support funds.
“Clear development trends will be set out in all the municipalities, potential of the use of biofuels, the development of cogeneration and the volume of re…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Black economy remains strong…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Though the shadow labor market has been shrinking over the last years, it still remains very large, even though employers face hefty fines if caught paying black wages.

According to the results of an annual study by the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LLRI), in 2012 a total of 22 percent of Lithuanian residents had illegal labor income. In the last four years, the shadow labor market has decreased by half, yet, compared to 2007, it still rose twofold.

“According to our estimations, the shadow economy has been reduced compared to the heat of the crisis, yet it still remains bigger than before the crisis,” said LLRI resear…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Application for A1 certificates…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

The basic aim of EU policy is to ensure that workers are part of a social security system and that they do not lose their rights, regardless of the member state they decide to work in.

An employer that posts its employees to work in another member state on a temporary basis, but wishes they would exercise their rights to benefit as a Lithuanian national working in another EU country, shall approach the Foreign Benefits Office of the State Social Insurance Fund Board of the Republic of Lithuania for the certificate attesting the applicable legislation of social security (A1) to be issued until the onset of the posting of the worker to an E…

Wed, 15 May 2013, SOE execs receive training…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

The main goal of the seminars was to implement the best practices and experience on corporate governance approaches and policy that are applied within the OECD to Latvian state-owned companies. Alongside the theoretical and practical sides of public sector governance, these training sessions also included such important topics for Latvia as the role of the board in strategic planning, the evaluation of a board and the importance of audits in the successful development of SOE (state-owned enterprise) governance.

Furthermore, senior economist Hans Christiansen of the OECD, who is also the head of the SOE and Privatization work group, was in…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Rail Baltica competes for cash…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

A large part of Europe is trying to figure out how to attract the limited transport investment funds to their court.
Ten billion euros will be distributed to develop the transport connections of cohesion states. “Dreams are widespread not just in the Eastern part of Europe, but in the Western part just the same. A countless number of good ideas are constantly arriving here. Of serious projects that could contend for that 10 billion, among them Rail Baltica is one of the most important ones,” said Kallas.

“It seems to me that the cooperation between the Baltic States and preparation works have progressed quite far. I do…

Wed, 15 May 2013, Exports show Estonia’s strengths…

Mr.D — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

“I take for the first time the liberty to make a prediction and forecast that next year, Estonia’s exports per capita will be bigger than in Finland.” Kitt added that Estonia has not benefited from others doing more poorly, but Estonian companies have worked hard.

According to the study, the expected share of exports of turnover is 74 percent in 2013. “When we look at sales distribution, three quarters is sent behind the border. It is important what takes place in target markets,” said Kitt. The food products industry shines here since it has a clear ambition to increase export volume.
The study indicated t…