Via Baltica

Latvia: Parliament begins discussing state budget for 2026

The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in final reading draft laws accompanying the state budget for 2026, LETA reports. MPs will now begin discussing the draft budget. The government’s budget priorities are national security, support for families with children, and high-quality education. Revenues are planned at EUR 16.1bn and expenditures at EUR 17.9bn. The…

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Lithuania: Far-right leader found guilty of antisemitic hate speech

Lithuania’s Vilnius Regional Court has found MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA) party, guilty of antisemitic hate speech, BNS reports. The court stated that Zemaitaitis had “publicly mocked, demeaned, and encouraged hatred” towards a group of people because of their Jewish ethnicity and “grossly minimised” the Holocaust in an “offensive…

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Baltic: Electricity output soared in Lithuania, cratered in Estonia in ten years

Lithuania recorded the largest increase in net electricity generation in the EU over 2013-2023, according to data from Eurostat, LSM reports. Lithuania’s net electricity production rose by 28.2% in the ten-year period. Latvia recorded a slight increase in electricity generation as well. Meanwhile, Estonia’s electricity generation decreased by as much as 58.5% over the same…

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Estonia: IKEA Group gets go-ahead to buy Södra’s forests

Swedish-owned IKEA Group has received permission from the Estonian Competition Authority (Konkurentsiamet) to acquire 18,000 hectares of forest from Swedish-owned Södra Forest Estonia, ERR reports. Under the deal, IKEA Group’s subsidiary, Ingka Investments, will buy Södra’s forests in Estonia and Latvia for EUR 720mn. Latvia’s Competition Council has received notification of the deal. Södra owns…

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Lithuania: Government may declare emergency over smuggler balloons

The Lithuanian government may declare an emergency due to the growing security threat posed by smuggler balloons launched from neighbouring Belarus, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic announced, BNS reports. He said that the government was assessing the impact on public safety and border security and was considering several options. Earlier, MEP Aurelijus Veryga, chairman of the…

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