Lithuania’s incoming new coalition government may try to resume official dialogue with neighbouring Belarus on reopening transport links and trade, The Baltic Sentinel reports. Political analyst Vytautas Bruveris noted that many rural voters of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) and the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens (LVZS), especially in eastern Lithuania, were tired…
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…
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…
Latvia’s Supreme Court has annulled the Riga Regional Court’s decision to acquit all defendants in the so-called second digital TV criminal case, LETA reports. The defendants include former transport minister Ainars Slesers, chairman of the populist Latvia First (LPV) party, former prime minister, prominent businessman Andris Skele, as well as several former executives at the…
Estonia’s state-owned transmission system operator, Elering, plans to build new undersea electricity interconnections with Finland and Latvia by 2040, ERR reports. Priit Heinla, head of offshore grid development at Elering, said that investment decisions on the two projects could be made in 2031-2033. Elering expects electricity prices to remain lower in the Nordic countries. Therefore,…
Latvia’s new prime minister, Andris Kulbergs, suggested “scaling down” the Rail Baltica railway project, ERR reported. Speaking at a joint press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal in Tallinn, Kulbergs said that he was looking at a potential solution to the project’s funding gap that would be “out of the box.” He said that…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has signed into law amendments to legislation governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. The changes will create a new board of directors for LRT, expand the company’s governing council, and establish fixed terms for council members and increase their powers. Also, the amendments will…
The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation increased in Estonia but decreased in Latvia and Lithuania in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The number of overnight stays in Lithuania totalled 2.05 million, which was down 12.9% from 1.78 million nights a year earlier. The decline was the biggest…
Business sentiment in Latvia was positive in the retail and services sectors, but negative in manufacturing and construction in May 2026, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reports. The retail confidence indicator stood at 3.1%, which was up 1.5 percentage points from April 2026. In services, the seasonally adjusted confidence indicator was 1.6%,…