Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), will impose a contractual penalty of EUR 5.7mn on the Czech rolling stock manufacturer, Skoda Vagonka, LETA reports. Vivi board chairman Raitis Nespors explained that the penalties were due to delays in the delivery of new electric trains, failure to rectify identified defects on time, and other…
Estonian political analysts said that the country’s parliament, the Riigikogu, was unlikely to agree on the election of a new president, ERR reported. The election was therefore likely to move to the electoral college, the analysts said. Both Tarmo Jüristo, head of the Liberal Citizen Foundation (SALK), and Tõnis Saarts, associate professor of comparative politics…
Lithuania has offered to mediate in an escalating diplomatic dispute between Poland and Ukraine related to the history of the Second World War, BNS reported. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renamed a military unit in honour of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which was associated with the massacres of up to 100,000 Polish civilians during…
A third of Latvian car drivers admit driving under the influence of alcohol, according to a new Norstat survey carried out in April 2026, LETA reported. The survey showed that 32% of respondents admitted to drinking and driving sometimes, which was up from 31% a year earlier. As many as 42% (41%) of men and…
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has approved amendments allowing prisoners from other countries to be housed in Estonian prisons, ERR reported. At the same time, the parliament ratified a prison leasing agreement with Sweden. Earlier, the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, ratified the agreement, ERR reported. Under the deal, Sweden can send up to 600 adult…
Hourly labour costs in the Baltic States rose the fastest in Lithuania in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, ELTA reported. Nominal hourly labour costs in the whole economy rose by 8.6% in Lithuania, 6.2% in Estonia, and 2.3% in Latvia from the first quarter of 2025. Hourly wage costs alone went…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene and her government have resigned from office, BNS reports. Ruginiene was appointed prime minister in September 2025 after the resignation of then prime minister Gintautas Paluckas, leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP). Ruginiene revealed that the plan at the time was for LSDP’s new chairman, Mindaugas Sinkevicius, to…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments blocking investors from Russia and Belarus from obtaining temporary residence permits in Latvia, LETA reports. The amendments close a legal loophole that allowed Russian and Belarusian investors to obtain residence permits through an investment programme for alternative investment fund managers. Meanwhile, a parliamentary commission recommended setting quotas…
Estonian President Alar Karis announced that he would not run for a second term in office, ERR reported. He said that he had made the decision a long time ago and cited personal reasons. One reason was that he had promised his family that he would only serve one term, Karis explained. The chairman of…
