International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analyticsMonday, 06.09.2010, 12:22
Estonian ministers still have disputes over 2 bln kroons of 2011 budget
05.09.2010Estonian ministers ended their cabinet meeting over the 2011 state budget at 10 p.m. on Friday night with the wishes of ministers exceeding the possibilities of the state treasury by 2 bln kroons, LETA/Postimees Online reports.
Keyword tags: Budget, Estonia, Financial Services
FNTT joins EU financial intelligence units
04.09.2010The Financial Crime Investigation Service (FNTT) has joined the network of the Financial Intelligence Units (FIU.NET) of the European Union to exchange intelligence information in its everyday work.
Finance Ministry: Latvian economy back on track
03.09.2010Guided by prudent forecasts and detailed analysis in its budget preparation for 2010, the Latvian Finance Ministry believes now that the economic downturn has been stopped, returning Latvia to a path of growth, informed BC the Latvian Institute.
Current account surplus in Latvia contracts to 6% of GDP in Q2
03.09.2010The surplus in the current account of Latvia's balance of payments contracted in the second quarter to 6% of gross domestic product, the Bank of Latvia press secretary Martins Gravitis informed the business portal Nozare.lv. The current account surplus amounted to LVL 183.8 million or 6% of GDP in the second quarter. In the first quarter, the current account surplus stood at 8.6% of GDP.
Latvian businessmen: parties' programs largely made up of slogans
03.09.2010Political parties' programs for the 10th Saeima elections are largely made up of slogans, and it appears that the parties have not yet decided how their promises will be implemented, businessmen representing various national economy sectors said at a debate hosted by the business portal Nozare.lv.
Latvian Finance Ministry: budget consolidation in 2011 is a responsibility of all ministries
Budget consolidation in 2011 is a responsibility of all ministries, therefore, if there are ministries that consider the functional audit carried out by the State Chancellery to be of no use they should come up with alternative suggestions, Aleksis Jarockis, deputy head of the Finance Ministry's Communication Department, told the business portal Nozare.lv.
Increasing social costs threaten Estonia’s 2011 budget
The plans of Estonian ministries for the year 2011 are being revealed in the course of budgetary negotiations and hence the state budget for the year 2011 is also being formed; as usual the ministry of social affairs has the biggest gap between the amount of requested funds and the amount that ministry of finance has earmarked for it, LETA/Postimees writes.
European Central Bank will supply Estonian households with euro instruction cards
On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Estonia introduced in Frankfurt an information booklet that will be sent to all households in Estonia to raise people’s awareness of the euro banknotes’ and coins’ designs and of the security elements involved, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht writes.
Piebalgs: Zoellick's question about LVL 100 wage for out of work persons was unfortunate joke
World Bank President Robert Zoellick's question and seeming incomprehension about the 100 lat program – a social security program in which out of work persons receive LVL 100 per month for doing various odd jobs offered by local governments – was just an unfortunate joke, as European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs said in an interview with LNT show "900 sekundes" this morning.
Bank of Lithuania granted permission to register the amendment of Articles of Ukio Bankas
As at September 2, 2010, the Board of the Bank of Lithuania permitted to register the amendment of the Articles of Lithuania-based Ukio Bankas regarding the increase of the bank's authorized capital up to 295.824 million litas, the company's Stock Exchange statement says.
Trichet is satisfied with Estonia’s preparations for euro adoption
President of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet stated in Frankfurt on Thursday that he is satisfied with Estonia’s preparations for the adoption of the euro, writes LETA/Äripäev.ee.
Ansip: no plans to raise taxes in 2011
Prime Minister of Estonia Andrus Ansip stated that the State tax revenue has not been reaching 2010 year’s level for years, writes LETA/Postimees Online.
Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund signs first projects in Baltics to purchase carbon credits in Estonia and Lithuania
In its first transaction in the Baltics, the EBRD-EIB Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund (MCCF) has agreed to buy carbon credits from a group of wind farms managed by OU Nelja Energia, a renewable energy company, wholly-owned by Fre-energy AS, a leading Estonian investor in renewable energy in Eastern Europe. OU Nelja Energia develops and manages a portfolio of 19 wind farms in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, with a planned combined capacity of 330 MW onshore and 700 MW offshore.
Latvian politicians promise not to increase taxes, but intend to change tax system
Representatives of Latvian leading political parties standing in autumn's 10th Saeima elections in 2010 promise not to increase the overall tax burden; however, the parties intend to make internal changes to the tax system, in order to move the tax burden from labor onto consumption.
Estonian Retailers Association: rushing Tallinn’s budget is unethical
Estonian Retailers Association said on Wednesday in a statement that including planned revenue from municipal sales tax in the 2011 budget of Estonia’s capital Tallinn is unethical and shows the attitude of the city government towards consumers, businesses and the development of the state.
Updating the Nordic-Baltic cooperation 
