Baltic: EBRD cuts GDP growth forecast for 2026, 2027
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lowered its GDP growth forecasts for…
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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: EBRD cuts GDP growth forecast for 2026, 2027
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has lowered its GDP growth forecasts for all three Baltic States in both 2026 and 2027, LETA reports. The bank now projects that Estonia’s GDP will grow by 2.1% in 2026 and 2.3% in 2027. In February 2026, the bank’s GDP growth forecast for Estonia was 2.2%…
Lithuania: Double more returnees than emigrants in 2025
The number of Lithuanian emigrants returning home exceeded the number of those who left the country for the sixth consecutive year in 2025, according to data from the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reported. Altogether 19,310 Lithuanian citizens returned to the country, while 9,940 citizens moved away from Lithuania in 2025. The majority of those…
Latvia: Government to decide on airBaltic’s future: PM
The Latvian government needs to make a decision on the future of the country’s national airline, airBaltic, in summer 2026, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs said that airBaltic remained a strategic state asset, but stressed that taxpayer money could no longer be the sole support for…
Estonia: Two thirds disapprove of government: poll
Two thirds of Estonian voters disapprove of the government’s performance, according to a new Norstat poll in May 2026, ERR reports. In the survey, 67% of respondents said that the government was performing poorly, while 27% found that the government was doing its job well. The government’s approval rating was unchanged from April 2026. Support…
Baltic: Estonia best on LGBT rights
Estonia ensures much better protection for LGBT rights than Latvia and Lithuania, according to human rights group ILGA-Europe’s Rainbow Map, which ranks countries based on their legal and policy protection for LGBT people, LSM reports. Estonia ranked 21st on the index with a score of 46.37% on a scale of 0-100% in 2026, which was…
Lithuania: Trump nominates new US ambassador
US President Donald Trump has nominated Keith Noreika to serve as the new US ambassador to Lithuania, LRT reports. If confirmed by the US Senate, Noreika will replace career diplomat Kara McDonald, who has served as ambassador since 2024. Noreika is a corporate lawyer specialising in financial regulation. He has served as executive deputy president…
Latvia: Tax authority awards largest taxpayers in 2025
Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) has awarded the country’s largest corporate taxpayers in 2025, Baltic News reports. The largest taxpayer in the Riga region was global technology consulting company Accenture’s Latvian branch. Latvian industrial holding UPB was the largest taxpayer in Kurzeme, while optical fiber manufacturer Light Guide Optics International (Lightguide) was the largest taxpayer…
Estonia: Tallinn, Helsinki approve twin city action plan
The mayors of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and the Finnish capital, Helsinki, have approved a twin city cooperation plan for 2026-2029, Baltic News reports. The action plan focuses on growth and innovation, resilience and sustainability, and creative industries and grassroots cooperation. The two cities will cooperate in startup ecosystem development, civil protection, and cultural and…
Baltic: Baltics interested in hosting US nuclear bombers
The Baltic States are interested in hosting US military aircraft capable of carrying out nuclear strikes, LETA reports. Sources told the Financial Times that the US was considering the possibility of stationing nuclear-capable bombers in more NATO countries in Europe. According to the sources, countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Poland and some Baltic States,…