Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, has asked the Supreme Court to declare the country’s new car tax unconstitutional, ERR reports. Madise argued that current legislation was in conflict with the Constitution as it did not allow refunding the motor vehicle registration fee in exceptional cases, such as when the vehicle was stolen, destroyed, or…
Lithuania’s Vilnius Regional Court has found MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA) party, guilty of antisemitic hate speech, BNS reports. The court stated that Zemaitaitis had “publicly mocked, demeaned, and encouraged hatred” towards a group of people because of their Jewish ethnicity and “grossly minimised” the Holocaust in an “offensive…
Staff at Lithuania’s public broadcaster, Lietuvos Nacionalinis Radijas ir Televizija (LRT), have announced a week-long protest against a proposal to make it easier to remove the company’s director general, LRT reports. During the action, the staff will hold brief moments of silence on air. Also, journalists plan a protest rally outside the Lithuanian parliament, the…
Estonian President Alar Karis has asked the Supreme Court to declare proposed amendments to the law regulating religious organisations unconstitutional, ERR reports. Earlier, the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a law to curb the influence of foreign organisations on churches in Estonia. There are concerns over the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church’s (EKÕK) canonical ties to…
The leader of Lithuania’s far-right populist Dawn of Nemunas party, MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, has called for abolishing the country’s Constitutional Court, ELTA reports. He insisted that the court had become a “politicised institution” and suggested that its functions be taken over by the Supreme Court instead. In 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zemaitaitis had violated…
Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) checked around 2,000 bank statements without legal authority, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise announced, ERR reports. FIU had obtained full bank statements via the data exchange layer connected to the enforcement register, whereas the law only allows FIU access to basic information about bank accounts. FIU told ERR that it…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has proposed amendments to simplify the procedure to initiate public referendums, LETA reports. He proposed halving the number of signatures needed to 5% of those who took part in the last parliamentary election and shortening the time to collect signatures to six months. If the 5% threshold is met, the Central…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics plans to propose lowering the threshold for holding public referendums on legislative changes, LSM reports. Rinkevics discussed the issue with Prime Minister Evika Silina and leaders of parliamentary groups, LETA reported. He will invite constitutional experts to join the discussions. Edmunds Jurevics, leader of New Unity’s parliamentary group, and Harijs Rokpelnis,…
Estonian President Alar Karis has rejected an amendment to the law on the use of natural resources, ERR reports. The legislative changes would suspend oil shale mining permits until 2026, allowing time to assess the industry’s compliance with EU climate goals. The president argued that the amendment ran counter to the Constitution and imposed disproportionate…
