Lithuanians are the most active savers in the Baltic States, according to a September 2025 poll for Luminor Bank, The Baltic Times reports. In the survey, 23% of Lithuanians, 17% of Estonians, and 14% of Latvians said that they were able to save more than 10% of their income regularly. As many as 43% of…
The most loved brand in the Baltic States is the Swedish banking group, Swedbank, according to the Baltic Brand Forum 2025 survey, The Baltic Times reports. Lithuanian supermarket chain Maxima ranked second, followed by Estonia’s state-owned logistics group, Omniva, and German supermarket chain Lidl. The top four ranking remained unchanged from 2024. US technology company…
Estonian fashion retailer Baltika Group has ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy, BNS reports. The group will lay off all of its 120 employees in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Baltika pointed to a prolonged difficult financial situation and unfavourable market conditions in the Baltic States. The group’s parent company, European Lingerie Group (ELG), will continue to…
Poland will extend temporary checks at its borders with Lithuania and Germany for another six months until 4 April 2026 due to concerns over irregular migration, BNS reports. Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski noted that migrants were moving from Belarus via the Baltic States through Poland to Western Europe. Polish authorities detained around 60 people…
The three Baltic States must agree on a new financing model for the Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, which manages the Rail Baltica railway project, CEO Marko Kivila and CFO Ojars Daugavietis stressed, LETA reports. Kivila noted that RB Rail’s budget remains largely unchanged in 2025, and that the company has therefore halted hiring and…
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed “grave alarm” at the decision of the three Baltic States, Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, BNS reported. Türk stressed that the international convention, which has over 160 state parties, was a crucial tool in “responding to…
The EU should take on joint debt to finance defence spending, Gediminas Simkus, board chairman of the Bank of Lithuania, stated, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Politico, Simkus called for “more unity in defence” in the EU, noting that the European defence industry market was still very fragmented. He said that the “time…
The Estonian government has rejected an offer to buy shares in Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, LSM reports. Estonia’s Infrastructure Minister, Kuldar Leis, explained that the decision was due to the fact that airBaltic’s change of management had not been completed and its financial situation remained problematic. He said that Estonia would not raise airport…
The coordination committee of the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility has approved another EUR 295.5mn of funding for the Baltic railway project, Rail Baltica, LSM reports. Of the total, EUR 47.1mn will go to Estonia, EUR 153.5mn to Latvia, and EUR 94.9mn to Lithuania. The project coordinator, RB Rail, said that the funds would be…