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,…
Three political groups in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, have signed an agreement on a new coalition government, BNS reports. The new ruling coalition will include the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), the Union of Democrats for Lithuania, and the joint parliamentary group of the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens and the Electoral Action…
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%,…
The Latvian government needs to make a decision on the future of the country’s national airline, airBaltic, in summer 2026, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs said that airBaltic remained a strategic state asset, but stressed that taxpayer money could no longer be the sole support for…
Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) has awarded the country’s largest corporate taxpayers in 2025, Baltic News reports. The largest taxpayer in the Riga region was global technology consulting company Accenture’s Latvian branch. Latvian industrial holding UPB was the largest taxpayer in Kurzeme, while optical fiber manufacturer Light Guide Optics International (Lightguide) was the largest taxpayer…
The Baltic States will procure up to 20 regional trains for the Rail Baltica railway, ERR reports. Estonia will buy 5-7 trains, Latvia up to 5 trains, and Lithuania up to 8 trains, which will operate on domestic routes only, at least initially. The trains will have around 200 seats and will run at maximum…