Russia continued to pose the most significant threat to Latvia’s national security in 2025, according to the State Security Service’s (VDD) new report, BNS reports. VDD pointed to Russia’s actions to damage infrastructure, aggressive intelligence activities, and psychological operations to influence public opinion in Latvia. VDD expects Russia to continue its “intensive, systematic, and aggressive…
Newly released documents connected to the convicted US human trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, include numerous mentions related to the Baltic States. Several documents refer to travel arrangements to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, Estonian World reports. Many messages refer, often in sexualised context, to women that Epstein or his associates had met in the Baltic States. Latvia…
More Lithuanian citizens moved back to Lithuania than emigrated for the sixth consecutive year in 2025, according to the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reports. A total of 18,155 Lithuanian citizens returned to the country in 2025, which was down from 18,934 in 2024. At the same time, 9,669 Lithuanian citizens emigrated, which was up…
Lithuania’s real GDP totalled EUR 84bn at current prices in 2025, which was up 2.7% from 2024, according to seasonally and calendar-adjusted data from the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reported. According to unadjusted data, the country’s GDP rose by 2.8% on year. Gross value added grew by 3.2% in industry, 3% in services, 2.1%…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, intends to increase its presence in neighbouring Lithuania, according to the company’s new CEO, Erno Hildén, BNS reports. He said that the airline had plans for new destinations and more frequent flights, particularly to and from Vilnius. While acknowledging that airBaltic was facing significant financial challenges, Hildén vowed that his…
The number of housing transactions in Latvia increased by around 20% in the first three quarters of 2025, compared to the same period of 2024, according to real estate agency Latio, LETA reported. The data showed that it took an average of 47 days to sell a home at market price in December 2025, which…
Lithuania’s ruling coalition plans to go ahead with legislation that would make it easier to dismiss the director general of the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said that the coalition intended to submit a new version of draft amendments after…
GDP per capita in the Baltic States was highest in Lithuania in 2024, according to preliminary data from Eurostat, BNS reports. Lithuania’s real GDP per capita stood at 87.5% of the EU average in 2024, followed by Estonia with 79.0% and Latvia with 68.4%. Actual individual consumption (AIC) per capita amounted to 88% of the…
Lithuania expects Belarus to honour its pledge to stop smuggler balloons from flying into Lithuanian airspace, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys stated, BNS reports. Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, John Coale, announced that Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka had promised to halt the balloon incursions. Budrys warned that failure to honour the pledge would affect…