Lithuania’s budget deficit was the smallest in the Baltic States in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, BNS reported. Lithuania’s budget deficit stood at 0.9% of GDP, which was down from 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Estonia’s budget deficit amounted 1.2% (1.3%) and Latvia’s to 1.9% (2.4%) of GDP. Meanwhile,…
Lithuania’s Court of Appeal has found MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), guilty of antisemitism, BNS reports. The court found that Zemaitaitis had incited hatred against Jews and grossly trivialised the Holocaust, systematically distorting historical facts and making “dehumanising comparisons.” The court ordered the MP to pay a…
The Latvian government is holding talks with 23 potential investors on the acquisition of Swedish telecommunications group Telia’s shares in the Latvian telecommunication companies, Tet and Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), Economy Minister Viktors Valainis announced, LETA reported. He said that there was strong international interest in the deal and that the transaction was progressing largely…
The US will deploy a new rotational unit of troops in Estonia in summer 2026, Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced, ERR reported. The unit will stay until the end of 2026, ERR reports. Also, Pevkur said that the US would resume deliveries of ammunition to Estonia “in the coming months,” ERR reported. Pevkur said…
Hungarian banking group OTP Bank’s operations in Russia raise “legitimate questions” about its ​planned acquisition of the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, Lithuania’s central bank, the Bank of Lithuania, stated, Reuters reports. Earlier, OTP Bank announced that it had signed an agreement to buy Estonia-based Luminor. The Bank of Lithuania said that the European Central…
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Lithuania to pay damages to a Saudi national who was detained at a secret CIA prison in the country, BNS reports. The court found that the man was held at the so-called black site near Vilnius for more than five months in 2005-2006. The man, who…
The Latvian state is in talks with three potential investors in the country’s national air carrier, airBaltic, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs announced, LSM reports. Speaking in an interview with Latvijas Radio, Kulbergs said that the state should no longer be involved in the aviation business. Also, he insisted that the state’s share in shouldering airBaltic’s…
Over half of car drivers in Estonia ignore traffic lights, according to a study done by the Estonian Transport Administration in September-November 2025, ERR reported. The study showed that an average of 58% of drivers ignored yellow lights and 9% of drivers ran red lights. The share of red-light violations was relatively similar across the…
Hungary’s OTP Bank has signed an agreement to acquire the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, from US-based private equity fund manager Blackstone and Norway’s DNB Bank, Baltic News reports. OTP Bank had already expressed interest in acquiring Luminor several years ago, LETA reported. Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltic States….
