A rail link to the Latvian capital, Riga, is planned to be built in the second phase of the Rail Baltica railway project, Marko Kivila, CEO of the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, told LETA. He noted that the Baltic States had not agreed on a timetable for the second phase yet. There would be…
Estonia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 5.2% on year in September 2025, driven mostly by a 7.7% increase in food prices, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. Prices for goods rose by 2.8% and services by 8.9%. Compared to August 2025, the CPI fell by 1.1%. This was the first time that the CPI…
The Baltic Assembly has announced its annual awards in arts, literature, and science, LSM reports. The prize in the arts category went to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins for the Latvian Radio Choir’s concert programme, The Dream Stream. The literature prize was awarded to Lithuanian author and translator Tomas Venclova for his latest poetry collection, Už…
All foreign nationals interacting directly with customers in Lithuania will be required to be able to communicate in Lithuanian as of 1 January 2026, LRT reports. The rule applies to both foreign employees and their employers. The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, approved the new regulation in October 2024. However, the exact language proficiency requirements and…
Latvia’s Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) may take the electronic moped rental company, Ride, to court for its refusal to suspend operations as ordered, LSM reports. Earlier, PTAC told Ride to halt its rental service after two teenagers riding the company’s vehicle died in a traffic accident in Riga. Linda Rinkule, deputy director of PTAC,…
Estonia needs more skilled foreign labour, Hando Sutter, CEO of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETK), stated, ERR reports. Speaking on ETV, Sutter noted that Estonia’s employment rate was now one of the highest in history. At the same time, the number of births was likely to be the lowest in 100 years in 2025, he…
Several people were detained in Lithuania after smuggler balloons disrupted flights at Vilnius International Airport (VIA) overnight on 4 October 2025, LRT reports. Vilmantas Vitkauskas, director of the National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), said that 10 of the 25 weather balloons carrying smuggled cigarettes had been found and several suspects who tried to retrieve the…
Latvia’s Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) has called on its coalition partner, New Unity, to support withdrawing from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women and domestic violence, LETA reports. ZZS argued that a case of alleged inappropriate behaviour by a foreign worker towards a minor in Liepaja demonstrated that…
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna panned comments by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel who implied that the Baltic States and Poland bore indirect responsibility for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, ERR reported. Tsahkna said that the reason for Russia’s aggression lies in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inability to come to terms with the collapse of the…