The EU should cover costs related to confronting Russia, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, Politico reports. He said that the EU should grant an additional EUR 7bn from its next multi-annual budget to compensate for Latvia’s higher defence spending and loss of trade with Russia. Latvia’s projected defence spending over the seven-year budget period…
Estonia’s non-parliamentary opposition party, Right-Wingers, has re-elected Lavly Perling as its chairwoman, ERR reported. She was the only candidate to the post. In her acceptance speech, Perling said that “painful decisions” were needed for Estonia not to lose the right to make decisions over its state finances. She insisted that state spending be frozen and…
European credit rating agency Scope Ratings has affirmed Lithuania’s long-term credit rating at A+ with a stable outlook, the Finance Ministry announced, BNS reports. The agency pointed to Lithuania’s resilient and increasingly diversified economy, sound public finances, and strong institutional framework. Also, rapid economic growth and greater macroeconomic resilience were raising income levels in Lithuania,…
Estonia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.2% on year in July 2026, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. The annual increase in prices was the smallest since April 2021. The average price of goods went up by 1% and services by 3.9%. Compared to June 2026, the CPI rose by 0.5%. Lauri Veski, consumer…
Lithuania is making progress towards normalising relations with communist China, Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said, BNS reports. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania’s position on China remained unchanged, stressing the need for a unified European approach as part of the EU’s common foreign and security policy. He warned that…
Estonia’s annual inflation may drop below 4% in 2026, the Ministry of Finance forecasts, ERR reports. Kristjan Pungas, economic analyst at the ministry’s fiscal policy department, linked the projection to the easing of the conflict in the Middle East. He noted that Estonia’s inflation rate was one of the lowest in the eurozone in June…
Over a quarter of people in the Baltic States could not afford one week of annual holiday travel away from home in 2025, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. In Lithuania, 30.9% of residents could not afford one week of holiday travel in 2025, which was down from 32.2% in 2024. The corresponding share was…
Estonia’s GDP rose by 2.1% in the second quarter of 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia’s flash estimate, ERR reported. Compared to the first quarter of 2026, the seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP rose by 0.4%. Tõnu Mertsina, chief economist at Swedbank, said that current estimates showed that Estonia’s…
Around 5,000 third‑country nationals come to Estonia every year for seasonal work, mostly on farms, according to the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), ERR reports. Most seasonal workers come from Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, India, and Georgia. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many seasonal workers came from Belarus as well, but Estonia has since…
