GDP

The Lithuanian Cabinet on Friday endorsed a draft budget for 2015, the first year of the country's eurozone membership. Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius has said that the bill is to be submitted to parliament for approval no later than 17 October.

Lithuania's defence budget will grow by a third next year, according to the draft budget published on Thursday.

Analysts at SEB Bankas estimate that Lithuania's maximum economic losses in case of Russia's complete import ban could reach up to 5 percent of the gross domestic product, noting that such losses would be quite painful.

Lithuania will likely feel the most severe effects of Russia's ban on food imports from the European Union as the country's ratio of food exports to Russia to GDP is the highest in the bloc, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said.

Lithuania has continued its climb up the Global Competitiveness Index, and is now ranked in the 41st spot. This year Lithuania is ahead of neighbouring Poland, and ranked better than Latvia, Italy, Turkey and Bulgaria, public enterprise Invest Lithuania informs.

Forecasts suggest that Russia's restrictions on imports from the European Union will have a negative effect on Lithuania's economy; however, this will not affect the country's 2015 defence budget, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says.

Statistics Lithuania informs that, based on more comprehensive business, tax and price statistics, in the second quarter of 2014, GDP at current prices amounted to LTL 31.32 billion (EUR 9.07 billion).

Statistics Lithuania has revised up the annual GDP growth numbers from 3.1% to 3.3% for the second quarter of this year (3.1% seasonally and working-day adjusted). Domestic demand remained the main driver of growth, while net exports continued to contribute negatively.

Swedbank has lowered its forecast of Estonia's economic growth in 2014 by 1 percentage point to 0.8 percent.

Swedbank has cut Latvia's economic growth forecast to 2.5% in 2014, reports LETA/Nozare.lv.

The Lithuanian State Defence Council on Monday advised the government to increase the funding earmarked for the Defence Ministry in next year's budget, the office of President Dalia Grybauskaitė said.

According to calculations carried out by the Netherlands-based ING Group, restrictions imposed by Russia on food imports from the European Union may cost the EU USD 6.7 billion (EUR 5.0 billion) per year, RBC Daily reports.

During the second quarter of 2014, Lithuania's seasonally-adjusted GDP rose by 0.7 percent, while compared to the same quarter of 2013, it increased by 3.0 percent, according to flash estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

The growth of the Lithuanian gross domestic product (GDP) may slow down by 0.2 percent in the wake of the Russian sanctions, Lithuania's Economy Minister Evaldas Gustas said after meeting with President Dalia Grybauskaitė on Friday.

According to the flash estimate, in the second quarter of this year annual GDP growth decelerated marginally to 3.1%. Seasonally and working day adjusted quarterly growth was unchanged at 0.7%. After six years GDP has finally reached the pre-crisis level. Estonian economy could reach pre-crisis leve...

Considering the development of the economic environment and political situation, Coface International Credit Risk Insurance Company has changed the outlook for several countries. The outlook has been upgraded for countries of Western Europe and so-called new development markets. Latvia’s outlook has...

Over 1.3 billion litas (EUR 0.376 billion) will be spent on defence in Lithuania in 2015, compared to 980 million litas, or 0,78 percent GDP this year, he said. But the Seimas of Lithuania plans next week to approve the allocation of additional 130 million litas for defence for this year.