Baltic: Poor mental health costs over 2% of GDP per year: report
The Baltic States are likely to see a more than 2% decline in GDP per…
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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:…
Baltic: Poor mental health costs over 2% of GDP per year: report
The Baltic States are likely to see a more than 2% decline in GDP per year due to poor mental health over 2025-2050, according to a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ERR reports. The projected drop in GDP in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania will be the highest of all…
Latvia: Agriculture Minister detained, dismissed
Latvia’s outgoing Prime Minister Evika Silina has dismissed Agriculture Minister Armands Krauze of the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) after the latter came under criminal investigation for abuse of office, LSM reported. Earlier, Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) briefly detained Krauze and the Agriculture Ministry’s former state secretary, current director of the…
Lithuania: No point in talks with Russia: President
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda sees “no possibility” for any negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the moment, BNS reports. Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Nauseda insisted that conversations with Putin could only begin when Russia “clearly demonstrates” that it wants to end the war against Ukraine. “Attempts…
Latvia: Three parties agree on coalition talks
Latvia’s opposition National Alliance and United List have reached a preliminary agreement with the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) to cooperate in forming a new government, LSM reports. However, the three groups only have 41 seats in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, which is 10 short of a majority. Forming a new government without…
Estonia: Plan for fourth power cable to Latvia postponed
Estonia’s national transmission system operator, Elering, has postponed plans to build a fourth electricity interconnection with Latvia until after 2038, which was the project’s original completion date, ERR reports. Earlier, Elering postponed a decision on the construction of a third undersea electricity connection to Finland. Reigo Kebja, board member at Elering, said that final investment…
Lithuania: Finnish president on two-day state visit
Finnish President Alexander Stubb is paying a two-day state visit to Lithuania, STT reports. Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Ville Tavio, and a large business delegation are travelling together with the president. The visit will focus on bilateral relations, defence and technology cooperation, and Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. Stubb will meet…
Estonia: Incumbent most popular choice for president: poll
Estonia’s incumbent president, Alar Karis, is overwhelmingly the most popular person for next president, according to a Norstat poll conducted in May 2026 for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. The survey shows that 39.1% of respondents support Karis. Mart Helme, founder of the opposition Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), is far…
Latvia: PM resigns, coalition collapses
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina has resigned, which means that her coalition government has collapsed, LSM reports. The opposition had planned to initiate a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. President Edgars Rinkevics will now consult parliamentary groups on forming a new government. Edgars Tavars, leader of the opposition United List’s parliamentary group,…
Baltic: Baltics ready to host more US troops
The three Baltic States as well as Poland and Romania have expressed readiness to host more US troops, Politico reports. Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that he would withdraw 5,000 or more US military personnel from Germany. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced that Lithuania was prepared to host as many allied troops as it…