Baltic: Estonia ranks highest on Global Innovation Index in 2025
Estonia ranks the highest in the Baltic States on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO)…
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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: Estonia ranks highest on Global Innovation Index in 2025
Estonia ranks the highest in the Baltic States on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index in 2025, Labs of Latvia reports. Estonia ranks 16th on the global index, followed by Lithuania on 33rd place and Latvia on 41st place. The Global Innovation Index ranks the world’s 139 most innovative economies based on…
Lithuania: Coalition MPs propose recognising Palestine
Three members of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, have submitted a draft resolution to recognise Palestinian statehood, BNS reports. The resolution was submitted by two MPs from the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), Petras Dargis and Karolis Neimantas, and MP Rimas Jonas Jankunas of the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS). Both parties are part…
Latvia: Riga link part of Rail Baltica’s second phase: CEO
A rail link to the Latvian capital, Riga, is planned to be built in the second phase of the Rail Baltica railway project, Marko Kivila, CEO of the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, told LETA. He noted that the Baltic States had not agreed on a timetable for the second phase yet. There would be…
Estonia: Annual inflation 5.2% in September 2025: statistics
Estonia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 5.2% on year in September 2025, driven mostly by a 7.7% increase in food prices, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. Prices for goods rose by 2.8% and services by 8.9%. Compared to August 2025, the CPI fell by 1.1%. This was the first time that the CPI…
Baltic: Baltic Assembly announces arts, literature, science prizes
The Baltic Assembly has announced its annual awards in arts, literature, and science, LSM reports. The prize in the arts category went to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins for the Latvian Radio Choir’s concert programme, The Dream Stream. The literature prize was awarded to Lithuanian author and translator Tomas Venclova for his latest poetry collection, Už…
Lithuania: Foreign service workers will need to speak Lithuanian
All foreign nationals interacting directly with customers in Lithuania will be required to be able to communicate in Lithuanian as of 1 January 2026, LRT reports. The rule applies to both foreign employees and their employers. The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, approved the new regulation in October 2024. However, the exact language proficiency requirements and…
Latvia: Consumer protection authority may sue e-moped rental company
Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) may take the electronic moped rental company, Ride, to court for its refusal to suspend operations as ordered, LSM reports. Earlier, PTAC told Ride to halt its rental service after two teenagers riding the company’s vehicle died in a traffic accident in Riga. Linda Rinkule, deputy director of PTAC,…
Estonia: Economy needs more foreign labour: employers
Estonia needs more skilled foreign labour, Hando Sutter, CEO of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETK), stated, ERR reports. Speaking on ETV, Sutter noted that Estonia’s employment rate was now one of the highest in history. At the same time, the number of births was likely to be the lowest in 100 years in 2025, he…
Lithuania: Several detained after smuggler balloons disrupt flights
Several people were detained in Lithuania after smuggler balloons disrupted flights at Vilnius International Airport (VIA) overnight on 4 October 2025, LRT reports. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, director of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), said that 10 of the 25 weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes had been found and several suspects who tried to retrieve the…