Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has announced that his United List will begin talks on forming a new government with the party’s current coalition partners, the National Alliance and New Unity, LSM reports. United List will meet with leaders of the two other parties on 28 October 2026. The three parties have a combined 58…
The Estonian government of Prime Minister Kristen Michal has won a vote of no confidence in the country’s parliament, the Riigikogu, ERR reports. Altogether 34 out of the 101 MPs voted in favour of the motion, which was signed by the opposition Fatherland, Estonian Centre Party, and Conservative People’s Party of Estonia as well as…
Human rights organisations and trade unions in Lithuania expressed concern about widespread exploitation of foreign workers in the country, BNS reported. Trade unions said that third-country nationals often had their passports or residence permits taken away at work, were assigned jobs different from those agreed, and were being subjected to excessive overtime and arbitrary fines….
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs suggested holding a consultative popular referendum on Latvia’s possible withdrawal from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women, LETA reports. Kulbergs said that the ruling United List had discussed the idea of a legally non-binding referendum on the question with President Edgars Rinkevics. Kulbergs said that referendum…
Estonia had an average 38,000 people registered as unemployed in the third quarter of 2026, which was 5,600 (13%) fewer than in the same period of 2025, according to the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund (Töötukassa), ERR reported. The share of the country’s working-age labour force registered as unemployed stood at 5.5%, which was down from…
The Baltic States have among the highest suicide rates in the EU, according to Eurostat, LSM reports. The data show that the number of suicides in Lithuania was 562 in 2023, which was up from 532 in 2022. Suicides totalled 270 (231) in Latvia and 199 (195) in Estonia. Lithuania’s standardised death rate for intentional…
Estonia’s liberal coalition party, Estonia 200 (E200), will not merge with the small non-parliamentary party, Estonian Greens (EER), ERR reports. E200’s council met to discuss the issue on 18 October 2026. E200 chief spokesman Johannes Merilai said that a merger would add nothing to E200’s core identity. Also, he noted that EER’s policies differed from…
Latvia had around 413,000 seniors aged 65 years and older in the beginning of 2026, which was 25,000 more than in 2016, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) data, LSM reported. Seniors now account for 22.4% of Latvia’s total population, which is up from 19.9% ten years ago. Latvia has the EU’s largest gender…
Russia was likely responsible for an arson incident at a storage facility for satellite communications equipment in Lithuania on 18 October 2026, Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius announced, LRT reports. He said that incendiary liquids and containers were found at the facility, which stored satellite antennas and a control unit for Starlink equipment. Vilmantas Vitkauskas,…
