Lithuania: Incoming PM presents new cabinet
Lithuania’s incoming new prime minister, Mindaugas Sinkevicius, chairman of the country’s ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic…
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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:…
Lithuania: Incoming PM presents new cabinet
Lithuania’s incoming new prime minister, Mindaugas Sinkevicius, chairman of the country’s ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), has presented his proposed cabinet of ministers to President Gitanas Nauseda, BNS reports. LSDP has nominated nine ministers to the new coalition government: Lukas Alsys for culture minister, Ieva Andriulaityte for environment minister, Kestutis Budrys for foreign minister,…
Latvia: United List, populists top poll in June 2026
Latvia’s ruling United List alliance and the populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), were the country’s most popular political parties in June 2026, according to a new SKDS poll for LTV, LSM reports. United List’s support stood at 9.8%, which was up sharply from 6.8% in April-May 2026. Support for LPV was 9.8% as well,…
Estonia: Supermarket revenue mostly flat in 2025
Most major grocery retail chains in Estonia managed to increase their revenue only very slightly in 2025, ERR reported. The country’s largest grocery retailer, cooperative network Coop Eesti, reported consolidated revenue of EUR 855.3mn in 2025, which was up 0.2% from 2024. Coop’s market share stood at nearly 23%. Supermarket chain Selver’s annual revenue totalled…
Baltic: Rail Baltica not built by 2030: Latvian PM
Completing the construction of the Rail Baltica railway in all three Baltic States by 2030 is “mathematically impossible,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reported. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs said that Estonian political leaders were living in a “dream world” regarding the project’s timetable, suggesting that they had been given incomplete…
Lithuania: Parliament votes to appoint new PM
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has approved the appointment of Mindaugas Sinkevicius, chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP), as the country’s new prime minister, BNS reports. Altogether 80 MPs voted for and only 2 MPs against Sinkevicius’s nomination, while 28 MPs abstained. He now has 15 days to present his cabinet of…
Latvia: Major data leak at state forest management company
Hackers have stolen large amounts of sensitive data from Latvia’s state forest management company, Latvijas Valsts Mezi (LVM), LETA reports. Baiba Kaskina, head of Latvia’s Cyber Incident Response Institution (CERT.LV), suggested that that the attack appeared to have been commercially motivated, LSM reported. A foreign ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister…
Estonia: Social Democrats propose justice chancellor for president
Estonia’s opposition Social Democratic Party (SDE) has proposed the country’s Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, as a candidate for president, ERR reports. SDE’s deputy chairman, Tanel Kiik, argued that Madise had the potential to secure a two-thirds majority needed to be elected in the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu. He said that SDE had discussed Madise’s…
Lithuania: Lithuanian volunteer killed in Ukraine
A Lithuanian volunteer, Ignas Kailius, was confirmed to have been killed during a combat mission in southern Ukraine in June 2026, LRT reported. He had served in a mostly Brazilian and Colombian unit. Kailius, who was 25 years old, had arrived in Ukraine in February 2026, BNS reported. In Lithuania, he had played for the…
Latvia: Prosecutor General vows action on disinformation
People abusing freedom of speech to spread disinformation and hate speech should be detained and isolated from society, Latvia’s Prosecutor General, Armins Meisters, stated, LETA reports. He said that the Prosecution Office would take action against specific individuals who were acting against Latvia’s national interests under the cover of press freedom and freedom of expression….