Estonia–Latvia relations members of the Baltic Free Trade Area from 1994 until 2004 after which they joined the European Union. In 2006, Latvia accounted for 3% of Estonian exports. Latvia accounted for 5% of Estonian imports. There are 15 bilateral agreements between the 2 countries many of them signed trilaterally with Lithuania. The three Baltic countries signed a trilateral defence agreement on 12 February 1995. Estonia–Latvia relations Estonia and Latvia, the two northernmost Baltic states, share 343 km of common borders. Both states share a long common history, having since the 13th century been ruled by the Livonian Order, Poland-Lithuania, Sweden and
Human rights in Estonia used every international forum where the claims of the violations of human rights in Estonia have been presented. The United Nations Development Programme's forum Development and Transition has discussed the situation of Estonia and Latvia in 2005. James Hughes, a US sociologist from the Trinity College, claimed Latvia and Estonia are both states "captured by the titular ethnic groups", employing a "sophisticated and extensive policy regime of discrimination" against their respective Russophone populations. He names three "pillars" of discrimination: refusal of citizenship, language usage, and participation rights, and claims discrimination is constrained by the "economic dependence on Russophone labour". Nils