From@AndrisKulbergsMy statement on airBaltic Today, airBaltic is initiating financial restructuring in a US court under Chapter 11. This time we are not buying a few more months of life support for the airline. We are beginning to solve problems at their core. It must be admitted that negotiations with bondholders were not progressing. Several investors, who had bought the bonds on the exchange at about 70 percent of their nominal value, were more reliant on airBaltic's liquidation and recovery of pledged assets rather than on restructuring the company. Another loan of up to 257 million euros at an annual rate of 25% was offered. That could provide the company with money for the near term, but would not solve either the previously accumulated debt or the problem of aircraft lease obligations. Therefore, I did not accept this offer as a long-term solution. Chapter 11 is a US court-supervised financial restructuring that allows airBaltic to continue flying while restructuring debts and lease agreements and attracting the financing needed for operations. Simply put, it is a protective shield that gives the company time and legal protection against creditor claims, allowing management to implement a full restructuring plan. This does not yet mean that all of airBaltic's problems are solved. But this is one of the best currently possible solutions to ensure the company's viability and give it the chance to stand on its own feet. For the process, airBaltic has received commitments from financiers to provide 350 million euros in new financing at a 12% rate. International financial market participants such as banks Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and private financiers Hayfin Capital Management, Oaktree Capital, and Strategic Value Partners have expressed readiness to finance. This is a significant and positive signal of trust. At the same time, I have instructed the Ministry of Transport to declassify restricted government documents related to airBaltic, so that the public finally has full information about the decisions made within the company, the use of state money, and the consequences of those decisions. The most important news for passengers is that airBaltic continues operations, the planes continue flying, and purchased tickets remain valid. This is not yet the finish and not a victory statement. But a process that addresses airBaltic's problems at their core has finally begun.
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Posts and News from Apvienotais saraksts
Political posts and news from Apvienotais saraksts among monitored Latvian public sources.
From@AndrisKulbergsMy statement on airBaltic Today, airBaltic is initiating financial restructuring in a US court under Chapter 11. This time we are not buying a few more months of life support for the airline. We are beginning to solve problems at their core. It must be admitted that negotiations with bondholders were not progressing. Several investors, who had bought the bonds on the exchange at about 70 percent of their nominal value, were more reliant on airBaltic's liquidation and recovery of pledged assets rather than on restructuring the company. Another loan of up to 257 million euros at an annual rate of 25% was offered. That could provide the company with money for the near term, but would not solve either the previously accumulated debt or the problem of aircraft lease obligations. Therefore, I did not accept this offer as a long-term solution. Chapter 11 is a US court-supervised financial restructuring that allows airBaltic to continue flying while restructuring debts and lease agreements and attracting the financing needed for operations. Simply put, it is a protective shield that gives the company time and legal protection against creditor claims, allowing management to implement a full restructuring plan. This does not yet mean that all of airBaltic's problems are solved. But this is one of the best currently possible solutions to ensure the company's viability and give it the chance to stand on its own feet. For the process, airBaltic has received commitments from financiers to provide 350 million euros in new financing at a 12% rate. International financial market participants such as banks Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and private financiers Hayfin Capital Management, Oaktree Capital, and Strategic Value Partners have expressed readiness to finance. This is a significant and positive signal of trust. At the same time, I have instructed the Ministry of Transport to declassify restricted government documents related to airBaltic, so that the public finally has full information about the decisions made within the company, the use of state money, and the consequences of those decisions. The most important news for passengers is that airBaltic continues operations, the planes continue flying, and purchased tickets remain valid. This is not yet the finish and not a victory statement. But a process that addresses airBaltic's problems at their core has finally begun.
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My statement on airBaltic Today, airBaltic is initiating financial restructuring in a US court under Chapter 11. This time we are not buying a few more months of life support for the airline. We are beginning to solve problems at their core. It must be admitted that negotiations with bondholders were not progressing. Several investors, who had bought the bonds on the exchange at about 70 percent of their nominal value, were more reliant on airBaltic's liquidation and recovery of pledged assets rather than on restructuring the company. Another loan of up to 257 million euros at an annual rate of 25% was offered. That could provide the company with money for the near term, but would not solve either the previously accumulated debt or the problem of aircraft lease obligations. Therefore, I did not accept this offer as a long-term solution. Chapter 11 is a US court-supervised financial restructuring that allows airBaltic to continue flying while restructuring debts and lease agreements and attracting the financing needed for operations. Simply put, it is a protective shield that gives the company time and legal protection against creditor claims, allowing management to implement a full restructuring plan. This does not yet mean that all of airBaltic's problems are solved. But this is one of the best currently possible solutions to ensure the company's viability and give it the chance to stand on its own feet. For the process, airBaltic has received commitments from financiers to provide 350 million euros in new financing at a 12% rate. International financial market participants such as banks Morgan Stanley, Barclays, and private financiers Hayfin Capital Management, Oaktree Capital, and Strategic Value Partners have expressed readiness to finance. This is a significant and positive signal of trust. At the same time, I have instructed the Ministry of Transport to declassify restricted government documents related to airBaltic, so that the public finally has full information about the decisions made within the company, the use of state money, and the consequences of those decisions. The most important news for passengers is that airBaltic continues operations, the planes continue flying, and purchased tickets remain valid. This is not yet the finish and not a victory statement. But a process that addresses airBaltic's problems at their core has finally begun.
@ivchix That would be empty talk, or do we need another? Things you can't influence (in Latvia) can only be taken into account, acknowledged. There's no point in populist resonance.
From@ivchixI'm simply fascinated that no Latvian party in this election cycle talks about this threat. https://t.co/VtMvMRd8qZ
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From@NaSutkiOdessaClassic video in the 'dying message against a camouflage net' genre... The level of submission is off the charts. They perfectly understand everything: that they are being destroyed, that the goal is meaningless, that their commanders are war criminals. But instead of turning around or at least laying down their weapons, they record a video for bloggers and still go to the slaughter. The process of realizing reality seems to be underway, but so far in a very specific form: they understand everything, ask for revenge on social media, but step straight into the meat grinder.
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#krīviski https://t.co/tSDNzNBEXH
From@Yagger2025Why I hate the Soviet Union and Russia as a whole, my aspirations in one video and with this person, I absolutely completely agree from and to... This is my personal position! https://t.co/sNAscXjkOx
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From@ltvzinasRussian drones attacked the Kyiv–Warsaw railway line and hit a passenger train. Nearby was a train carrying European and Baltic officials. Both train crews were warned of the attack in advance, so no one was hurt in the attack. 🖥️ https://t.co/8BcifMM6Ue
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@Zmeycharauski If you are sitting in 'seventh heaven' there is very little chance to communicate with media or party members…
From@ZmeycharauskiA weeping Uzulnieks, who admits his mistakes, tells that he drank because of some private pain, now deeply regrets and steps down himself, would have raised ZZS rating... wasted opportunity.
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If a person gets behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol, they endanger the health and lives of others. From the minister's side, this is irresponsible and categorically unacceptable behavior.. Therefore, Uzulnieks' dismissal from office is the only correct decision. https://t.co/cmaTiWQJyd
From@Brivibas36Prime Minister @AndrisKulbergs signed an order on the dismissal of Reinis Uzulnieks from the post of Minister of Welfare. From September 14 of this year until a further decision, the Minister of Agriculture Uldis Augulis has been assigned to perform the duties of the Minister of Welfare. https://t.co/6NspmtIJP1
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On Father's Day I go to Lapland to represent 🇱🇻 at the 🇪🇺 Arctic Summit, where Nordic and European leaders will meet to address security and the new 🇪🇺 MFF multi-annual budget issues. I will defend 🇱🇻's position on our role as an EU border state on the eastern flank in strengthening the EU border, investment in defense and the need to strengthen the border economy with an additional €7 billion in funding.
A minister and alcohol at the wheel is total irresponsibility, a threat to society. I have issued an order to release R. Uzulnieks (ZZS) from the duties of the Minister of Welfare. U. Augulis is appointed as acting head of the Ministry of Welfare for the term of this government.
@VisockisJuris The opposite. First the masses must be educated. So that 50+ of those who will vote for a technically feasible thing are elected. Technically, that is called a budget. I have a plan, but it is unpopular. So far only Argentina has implemented it.
From@VisockisJuris@guntarsv In what courses? You don't need to educate the masses! You need to reduce wasteful budget spending and the deficit! BY ANY MEANS and ALL RESOURCES, because you currently have power. WHO will do it and WHEN, if those in power find it too hard?
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From@yes_ukraineSpeakers of #YES2026 hosted by @PinchukFund and @yes_ukraine included @ZelenskyyUa, President of Ukraine; Victor Pinchuk, businessman and philanthropist, Founder of @yes_ukraine; @jaredkushner, US Special Envoy for Peace, @RepJimCosta, US House of Representatives; @RepDonBacon, US House of Representatives; @RepCarbajal, US House of Representatives; @SenThomTillis, Senator, United States Senate; @RepVindman, US House of Representatives; @RepWesleyBellMO, US House of Representatives; @SenJohnCurtis, Senator, United States Senate; @nfergus, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; @sikorskiradek, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland; @TimothyDSnyder, Temerty Chair in Modern European History at University of Toronto, Munk School; @BorisJohnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2019-2022); @ericschmidt, Executive Chairman and CEO of Relativity Space; Former Chairman and CEO of Google; @Tsahkna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia; @benjaminhaddad, Minister Delegate for Europe, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France; @MSchularick, President of Kiel Institute for the World Economy; @EdvardsSmiltens, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Latvia; @borysgudziak Metropolitan Archbishop of Archeparchy of Philadelphia Ukrainian Catholic Church; @louismosley, CEO of Palantir Technologies UK & Europe; @VVChentsov, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine; @SenArmstrong, Senator, United States Senate; @PasiRayala, Political Secretary of State at Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland; @AndzejsVilumson, State Secretary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia; @EivindVP, State Secretary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway; @skusev, Political Director at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania; @gilliantett, Head, King’s College Cambridge; Columnist, Financial Times; @SashaUstinovaUA, Member of Parliament of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine; @zannymb, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist; @FareedZakaria, Host and Bestselling Author, CNN; @mustafasuleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI; @shustry, Staff Writer of The Atlantic; @AnttiLindtman, Chairman of Social Democratic Party of Finland; @nataliabugayova, Director of Cognitive Warfare Center and Modern Warfare Fellow, Institute for the Study of War; @ValeriiPekar, Chairman of the Board of NGO “Decolonization”; @Andriypzag, Chairman of Centre for Defence Strategies; @GLandsbergis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania (2020-2024); Founder, NGO Friends of Democracy; @carlbildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014); Prime Minister of Sweden (1991-1994); Co-Chair of ECFR; Member of the YES Board; @MarinSanna, Prime Minister of Finland (2019-2023); Member of the YES Board; @jaredkushner, United States Special Envoy for Peace; @RufoAlice, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces, French Republic; David Petraeus, Partner, KKR; Joachim Kaschke, Chief of Central Management Staff and Head of Special Staff on Ukraine; Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to the President, National Security Advisor; Jonathan Powell, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine; Yaroslav Hrytsak, Historian; Doctor of Historical Sciences; Professor at Ukrainian Catholic University; Serhii Zhadan, Soldier, 13th Operational Brigade "Khartiia"; Serhiy Stakhovsky, Special Operations Center “A”, Security Service of Ukraine operator and Former Professional Tennis Player; Yurii Fedorenko, Commander of the 429th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade “ACHILLES”; Olena Apchel, Artillery Reconnaissance Officer, National Guard of Ukraine; Artem Skurativskyi, Head of Air Defense of the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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Both are happening. The bases were reduced by about 50 mio already before us. And it continues. Next year around 300mio. Which has already been eaten up by politicians' truly unchanged spending demands. Very healthy appetite. Indeed. But all this is largely pointless. Who will respond to my call to FINALLY go to courses?
From@VisockisJuris@guntarsv About revising and reducing functions, various governments have been talking for 10 years, NONE DO IT. When will they get to it, if every year they drag the chatter and scaremongering to September and then there's no time to analyze?! WHEN will we start stopping waste and overspending, WHEN will the finance minister start reducing the bases?
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Today I remembered that elections are soon. I went to support the team and ... I jumped. But the feeling is mixed. I had planned to work today. But it's still Sunday, that's encouraging 🙂 https://t.co/My6kw9gyqp
Here's one concrete example, two. I'm talking about 'my' current ministry, where I have more direct daily experience. VID, an institution under the Finance Ministry, recently reduced its headcount by more than 1000. Now 2800, down from about 4k. Is that 'nothing'? The Finance Ministry itself has remained at around 250 employees, even though a host of duties has been added over the years. Is that nothing? And average salaries are not the highest, there's this KEM asking someone to bring coffee. And yes, I understand the popular negativity. Against bankers (traditionally) and what is the Finance Ministry in state administration? Essentially the same kind of accountants, state financiers. By definition they are and will be the bad guys. Because 'bankers'. I knew that from day one, I formulated it that way and urged accepting it as an inevitable given, I put on the usual uniform. You see, for 25 years I also owned an accounting firm. Before I sold the business, it was relatively large. Thousands of clients over the years. And sometimes clients had exactly the same attitude. For me it's like stepping into familiar slippers. I know this industry well, I understand. With one exception. My task as a manager was always to defend accountants from humiliation by business owners. Sometimes they allowed themselves too much. Over time it became such that they would cite me - they'd have to talk to Guntars. And eventually clients understood it was time to stop the mobbing. But I can't stop the public mobbing of the Finance Ministry right now. The employer is not a business owner whose choices are nevertheless rational. Here there is a frenzied crowd.
From@cikvarnest@andrislov The bureaucracy reduction group has been working since 2025, target -25% by 2028. The methodology of WHAT and HOW is measured has not been published. 58,409 employees in budget institutions, 2022–25 without reduction, 1,147 promised liquidated positions – without report. A target without a unit of measure is a slogan.
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Ukraine's victory and the path to the European Union are in the security interests of all Europe. Latvia and Lithuania support this path, accelerating it with practical experience and expert knowledge. In Kyiv, together with the Lithuanian Minister of Justice and the Ukrainian Minister of Justice, we agreed on closer cooperation in several strategically important directions: 🇪🇺 reforms of Ukraine's judicial system and the EU integration process; ⚖️ strengthening the rule of law and the fight against corruption; 🛡️ resilience of judicial institutions and continuity of operations in crisis and war conditions; 📄 documenting international crimes committed by Russia and bringing the guilty to justice; 👧 return of Ukrainian children illegally deported by Russia; 💻 digitalization of the judicial system. At the same time, we have much to learn from Ukraine. In Ukraine, courts and judicial institutions continue to work despite attacks, damaged infrastructure, disruptions in energy supply, and an enormous workload. Ukraine's experience also strengthens the readiness of Latvia's and Lithuania's judicial systems for crises and the ability to resist Russia's attempts to use legal proceedings as a hybrid warfare tool. We will continue to jointly advance the establishment of a Special Tribunal, an international compensation mechanism, and practical solutions so that victims receive justice, and the aggressor Russia faces inevitable consequences. Ukraine can rely on Latvia and Lithuania. Our support will continue for as long as necessary – until a free and European Ukraine. 🇱🇻🇺🇦🇱🇹
@Gaumigais_joks I think that concrete pouring should be stopped, but instead people should be motivated. With a fishing rod, not a benefit.
From@Gaumigais_joks@guntarsv Then maybe in this crisis we build infrastructure, instead of driving another 500K Latvians abroad, like in the previous crisis?
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From@Apvienotais_Greetings from Balvi! Juris Viļums together with Raimonds Bergmanis, Ināra Groce and Aivars Bačkurs today in Balvi meet with residents to discuss one of the most pressing issues in Latgale – the future of hospitals. Both in Balvi and Preiļi, people need to know what healthcare accessibility will be like in the future and how necessary medical services will be provided as close to home as possible. Decisions about the future of regional hospitals cannot be made without listening to people, medics, and municipalities. Healthcare must be accessible regardless of whether a person lives in Riga, Balvi, or Preiļi. #APVIENOTAISSARAKSTS #LatvijaMumsIrRisinājums #7saraksts #Balvi #Preiļi #Latgale
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Deficit and national debt. Right now the noose is tightening around the world, and there is no end in sight: the USA, Europe, Japan. Everywhere. The 10-year US debt yield has reached almost 5%, a level not seen in 19 years. Japan is at 3%, not seen that high in 30 years. Germany is around 3.5%, not that high since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, budget deficits (the reason for borrowing) have in many places left the controllable zone. Inflation is no longer the 'desired' 2%, but 3–4%. And there is still no end in sight, and economists promise none. In Latvia, everything is just quiet. Mainly because intellect lags behind; in the public sphere you only hear that all it takes is to fire some officials and the budget will balance. You don't even realize how decisive turns must be made to cover just a small part of the deficit. I know the numbers, they make your eyes water.