Lithuania: EU Commission approves EUR 153mn of recovery funds
The European Commission has approved an additional EUR 153mn in funding for Lithuania under the…
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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: EU Commission approves EUR 153mn of recovery funds
The European Commission has approved an additional EUR 153mn in funding for Lithuania under the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), BNS reports. The funds are due to be disbursed in July 2026. So far, Lithuania has received EUR 2.69bn under its national recovery plan. Lithuania will submit its final RRF payment request in September…
Latvia: Hotel bookings down 3% in Q1/2026
Tourist accommodation establishments in Latvia had a total of 447,100 guests in the first quarter of 2026, which was down 3.0% from 460,800 in the same period of 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The number of foreign guests amounted to 246,600, which was 7.2% fewer than a year earlier. The…
Estonia: Agricultural land prices down nearly 10% in 2025
The average price of agricultural land in Estonia was EUR 6,122 per hectare in 2025, which was down 9.7% from EUR 6,782 in 2024, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The price drop was due to a lack of large transactions. The average price of grassland stood at EUR 4,861 and arable land at EUR…
Lithuania: Parliament committee approves changes to public broadcaster law
Lithuania’s parliamentary committee on culture has approved amendments to the controversial draft law governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), LRT reported. The committee approved a new management board, an expanded governing council, shorter four-year council terms, and tighter eligibility requirements for council member candidates. The committee dropped proposals to let…
Latvia: PM nominee plans grand coalition
Latvia’s prime ministerial nominee, MP Andris Kulbergs of the opposition United List, will seek to put together as broad a coalition government as possible, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs suggested forming a coalition of all five political groups in the current parliament, the Saeima, except the populist Latvia First (LPV). He…
Estonia: 41% of electricity consumed in Q1/2026 imported
Estonia’s electricity consumption totalled 2,568 GWh in the first quarter of 2026, according to transmission system operator Elering, ERR reports. Electricity imports totalled 1,064 GWh, covering 41% of consumption. Estonia’s domestic production of electricity totalled 1,504 GWh, which was 7% less than a year earlier. Production of electricity from renewable sources totalled 951 GWh (down…
Lithuania: Military drone crashes in northern Lithuania
A suspected Ukrainian military drone crashed in northern Lithuania in the early evening of 17 May 2026, LRT reports. The National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC) said that the drone crashed in a field near a village in the Utena district. According to the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGS), military radars failed to detect the drone, and…
Lithuania: President denies US pressure on Belarus fertiliser transit
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda denied that the US was pressuring Lithuania to reopen transit shipments of fertilisers from Belarus, BNS reported. He stressed that Belarusian fertilisers were under EU sanctions and insisted that there were no grounds to lift the sanctions. Earlier, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told a closed-door meeting of the parliamentary group of…
Latvia: Freight traffic on roads rose, fell on railways in 2025
The volume of freight transported by road increased, while the volume of rail freight decreased in Latvia in 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The total volume of freight transported by land amounted to 89.8 million tonnes in 2025, which was up 0.6% from 89.3 million tonnes in 2024. The volume…