Estonia: GDP up 1.3% in Q1/2026: flash estimate
Estonia’s GDP rose by 1.3% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same…
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Welcome to Via Baltica, your “information superhighway” for news from the three Baltic tigers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania! Our founder and editor-in-chief is Kerkko Paananen, senior news analyst with more than two decades of professional expertise in covering and reporting on current affairs in the Baltic States. We aim to do one thing well:…
Estonia: GDP up 1.3% in Q1/2026: flash estimate
Estonia’s GDP rose by 1.3% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia’s flash estimate, BNS reported. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP rose by 0.6%. Robert Müürsepp, national accounts service manager at Statistics Estonia, noted that there were several…
Baltic: Nordic, Baltic ministers back Ukraine’s EU, NATO entry
Ukraine “firmly anchored in the European family is in the interest of European security and essential for Europe’s future as a geopolitical power and economic actor,” the foreign ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries stated, ERR reports. Following their two-day meeting in Estonia’s Kuressaare on 29-30 April 2026, the ministers expressed support for Ukraine’s…
Estonia: Foreign Ministry fails to look ahead: President
Estonia’s Foreign Ministry lacks the ability to look ahead, President Alar Karis stated, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview with regional daily Lääne Elu, Karis noted that once the war in Ukraine ends, the question will arise whether Estonia still has friends left. Estonia therefore needs “the strength to look a bit further,” he said….
Lithuania: New protest against public broadcaster law
Over 10,000 people in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, protested outside the parliament, the Seimas, on 8 April 2026 against proposed changes to legislation governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reported. The demonstration was organised by the Association of Professional Journalists (ZPA). Nevertheless, Seimas speaker Juozas Olekas insisted that the…
Latvia: Arrest warrant for pro-Russian opposition leader
Latvia’s Riga city court has issued an arrest warrant for former MP Aleksejs Roslikovs of the pro-Russian opposition party, For Stability, who has been charged with inciting national and ethnic hatred, LSM reports. At a press conference in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, Roslikovs suggested that he might not return to Latvia, LETA reported. Earlier, he resigned from…
Estonia: Exports down 1%, imports up 6% in February 2026
Estonia’s exports of goods totalled nearly EUR 1.5bn in February 2026, which was down 1% from the same period of 2025, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Imports of goods totalled nearly EUR 1.9bn, which was up 6% over a year. Estonia’s monthly trade deficit thus amounted to EUR 426mn, which was EUR…
Lithuania: Defence attache to be sent to Israel
The Lithuanian government has approved the opening of a defence attache post at the country’s embassy in Israel, BNS reports. The post is expected to be established in July 2026. The Defence Ministry said that Lithuania was developing joint procurement projects with Israel to strengthen Lithuania’s military capabilities and defence industry. Also, Lithuania seeks to…
Latvia: Home prices up 11% on year in Q4/2025: statistics
Home prices in Latvia rose by 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2025 from the previous quarter, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, housing prices increased by 11%. Residential property prices have risen by more than 120% and rental prices by more than 30% over ten years since…
Estonia: Fatherland, Centre Party top poll in March 2026
Estonia’s three opposition parties, national-conservative Fatherland (Isamaa), populist Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond), and the Social Democratic Party (SDE), are the country’s most popular political parties, according to Norstat’s new poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Fatherland’s support now stands at 26.3%, the Centre Party’s at 21.9%, and SDE’s at 15.1%. The…