Renewable energy accounted for 73% of the total volume of electricity generated in Latvia in 2024, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The volume of electricity produced from renewable sources totalled 4,643 GWh in 2024. Hydro, wind, and solar power plants generated a total of 4,022 GWh of electricity…
The Estonian Reform Party and the Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond) will topple Tallinn’s current city government next week, incumbent mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) said, ERR reports. He accused Reform’s mayoral candidate, businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa, of holding token talks with other parties to obscure the party’s plan to form a new…
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, met with his Latvian and Lithuanian counterparts on a working visit to Riga and Vilnius, LSM reports. The foreign ministers discussed bilateral cooperation, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze expressed hope for more permanent solutions in Israel’s relations with Lebanon…
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has reported a sharp rise in secondary migration via Latvia, BNS reports. Altogether 352 irregular migrants who entered Latvia from Belarus were detained in Lithuania and Poland in the first half of 2025, which was up 2.5 times from 140 in the same period of 2024. Most of the…
Over half of Latvian municipalities have new mayors following local elections on 7 June 2025, LETA reports. Municipal councils elected altogether 22 new chairpersons, while 20 incumbent mayors remained in office. Political groups that received the most votes failed to secure the mayorship in 12 municipalities, including in Riga, Jelgava, and Ventspils. In some municipalities,…
The Estonian Reform Party’s candidate for mayor of Tallinn, businessman Urmas Sõõrumaa, wants to form a technocratic city government with no executive politicians, like in Helsinki, ERR reports. At the same time, he said that the new city government would follow guidelines from Reform and the Estonian Centre Party. He insisted that the city had…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has refused to subject himself to a vote of confidence in the parliament, the Seimas, BNS reports. Opposition MPs have demanded that the Prime Minister resign due to questions about his past business activities. Speaking after a “frank and sincere conversation” with President Gitanas Nauseda, Paluckas insisted that he continued…
Latvian ministries have submitted 250 proposals for spending cuts, Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens announced, LSM reports. Ministries have suggested cuts in remuneration, subsidies, goods and services, and other expenditure. The proposals would reduce public sector spending by EUR 150mn in 2026, the Finance Ministry estimated. The ministry targets cumulative spending cuts of up to EUR…
Estonia will have to borrow more to raise defence spending above 5% of GDP, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna stated, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview with Vikerraadio, Tsahkna said that Estonia would try to obtain as much financing as possible under the EU’s SAFE instrument. The Finance Ministry is now analysing how much SAFE funding…