Lithuania: Fitch affirms A+ rating with stable outlook
The international credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has affirmed Lithuania’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating…
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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: Fitch affirms A+ rating with stable outlook
The international credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has affirmed Lithuania’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at A+ with a stable outlook, the Finance Ministry announced, BNS reports. The agency pointed to Lithuania’s credible policy framework, EU and eurozone membership, resilient economic growth, moderate government debt, and high institutional quality. Risks were related to the current…
Latvia: Latvians, Russians disagree on EU, NATO, Ukraine
Latvia’s Russian-speakers have a markedly more negative attitude towards the EU and NATO than ethnic Latvians, according to a survey conducted by the Riga-based association, Russian Voice for Latvia, LSM reports. The survey showed that, on a scale of 1 to 10, Latvians rated their attitude towards the EU at 8.4 points, while the average…
Estonia: President appoints key advisers
Estonian President Ülle Madise has appointed Paavo Nõgene as director of the Office of the President, ERR reports. Previously, Nõgene served as secretary general of the Ministry of Culture and CEO of the Estonian shipping company, Tallink. Earlier, Rainer Saks joined Madise’s team as her defence and national security adviser, ERR reported. Saks is a member…
Baltic: Baltic, Polish leaders urge EU funding for Rail Baltica
Baltic and Polish leaders urged the EU to allocate necessary funding for the Rail Baltica railway project under the EU’s multiannual financial framework in 2028-2034, the Office of the President of Lithuania reported. In a joint letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the leaders reaffirmed the…
Lithuania: Big majority unhappy with country’s direction
An overwhelming majority of Lithuanians think that the current situation in the country is heading in the wrong direction, according to Baltijos Tyrimai’s latest poll for ELTA, DELFI reports. The public opinion survey showed that 62% of Lithuanian residents were pessimistic about the country’s situation in September-October 2026. Meanwhile, 23% of respondents said that the…
Latvia: Ministry to bring family values into schools
Latvia’s Ministry of Education and Science plans to incorporate family values and health literacy into the country’s national education curriculum, LETA reports. The new teaching module is scheduled to be developed by May 2027. Critics, including the Latvian Trade Union of Education and Science Employees (LIZDA), have voiced concerns that the planned educational content could…
Estonia: 60% of university students are women
Women have accounted for around 60% of all students in higher education in Estonia since at least 2010, ERR reports. In health and welfare majors, there were 5,553 female and just 1,246 male students. At the same time, men account for 54% of students in vocational education. Estonia’s latest PISA results show that girls outscore…
Baltic: Income inequality higher in Latvia, Lithuania
Income inequality in Latvia and Lithuania was among the highest in the EU in 2025, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. Latvia’s Gini coefficient, which measures wealth distribution, stood at 35.6, which was up from 34.2 in 2024 and the second-highest in the entire EU. Lithuania’s Gini coefficient was the EU’s third-highest at 35.5 in…
Lithuania: Government halves bus, train ticket prices
The Lithuanian government has introduced a 50% discount on domestic train tickets and will introduce a similar discount on intercity bus fares until the end of 2026, BNS reports. The purpose is to encourage the use of public transport amid the rise in fuel prices. Transport Minister Juras Taminskas said that the additional discount would…