Baltic: Employment in Lithuania rose fastest in Q1/2026
Employment in Lithuania rose at the fastest pace in the entire EU in the first…
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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: Employment in Lithuania rose fastest in Q1/2026
Employment in Lithuania rose at the fastest pace in the entire EU in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, ELTA reported. Lithuania’s employment rate rose by 1.8% over a quarter. Meanwhile, employment in Estonia rose by 0.9% and in Latvia by just 0.1%. However, compared to the first quarter of 2025, the…
Lithuania: Conservative opposition support down in May 2026
Lithuania’s conservative opposition Homeland Union (TS-LKD) remains the country’s most popular political party, according to a new Spinter Tyrimai poll for DELFI, BNS reported. TS-LKD’s support stood at 15.5% in May 2026, which was down from 15.8% in April 2026. The ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) came in second with 8.9% (7.6%) and…
Latvia: Annual inflation 3.5% in May 2026
Average consumer prices in Latvia rose by 3.5% on year in May 2026, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. The rise in annual inflation was mainly influenced by the increase in transport fuel prices (up 28.2%) and housing-related energy costs (up 5.8%). At the same time, prices for food and…
Estonia: IMF, OECD urge budget cuts, tax reform
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended that the Estonian government stabilise public debt by limiting budget spending and increasing revenue, ERR reports. IMF experts warned that if current policies continued, public debt would become unsustainable. GDP growth alone will not solve the country’s long-term challenges, they pointed out. Achieving more sustainable growth would require increasing…
Baltic: Ukraine’s President to join NB8 summit in Tallinn
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a summit meeting of the prime ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on 9 June 2026, ERR reports. Zelensky will meet with Estonian President Alar Karis and Prime Minister Kristen Michal, while Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, will meet with his Estonian counterpart,…
Lithuania: Social Democratic leader may replace PM
Reports in Lithuania suggest that Mindaugas Sinkevicius, chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP), may replace Inga Rugininene as the country’s prime minister, ELTA reports. LSDP is currently negotiating with the opposition Union of Democrats for Lithuania (DSVL) on forming a new coalition government together with the joint parliamentary group of the…
Estonia: Supreme Court rejects challenge to church law
Estonia’s Supreme Court has rejected a request from President Alar Karis to declare legislative amendments obliging religious associations to sever their ties with hostile foreign states unconstitutional, ERR reports. Karis had insisted that the amendments violated the Constitution, arguing that the law would place excessive restrictions on freedom of religion and association. However, the Supreme…
Latvia: Drone shot down in eastern Latvia
French fighter jets within NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission shot down a drone in eastern Latvia in the morning of 8 June 2026, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) announced, LSM reports. NBS said that the drone entered Latvian airspace due to Russian “electromagnetic warfare,” TVNET reported. Eyewitness said that the incident occurred near the village…
Baltic: New Baltic think tank established in UK
A new Baltic think tank, the Baltic International Security Centre (BISC), was launched at an event in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on 3 June 2026, LSM reports. The UK-based centre was founded by British veteran journalist and security expert Edward Lucas. BISC’s patrons are four former Baltic presidents: Estonia’s Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Latvia’s Vaira Vike-Freiberga…