Completing the construction of the Rail Baltica railway in all three Baltic States by 2030 is “mathematically impossible,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reported. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Kulbergs said that Estonian political leaders were living in a “dream world” regarding the project’s timetable, suggesting that they had been given incomplete…
Estonia will begin building a new permanent base for the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) in the northeastern border city of Narva later in 2026, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur announced, ERR reported. The base in the city’s Kadastiku industrial area is due to be completed by the end of 2027. Although all political groups in Narva…
The three Baltic States lack sufficient funding to complete the first phase of the Rail Baltica railway project, LSM reports. The total cost of the first phase is estimated at EUR 15bn, and only slightly more than EUR 5bn of funding has been pledged so far. Marko Kivila, CEO of the project’s central coordinating entity,…
Hourly labour costs in the Baltic States rose the fastest in Lithuania in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, ELTA reported. Nominal hourly labour costs in the whole economy rose by 8.6% in Lithuania, 6.2% in Estonia, and 2.3% in Latvia from the first quarter of 2025. Hourly wage costs alone went…
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,…
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…
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 mayors of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and the Finnish capital, Helsinki, have approved a twin city cooperation plan for 2026-2029, Baltic News reports. The action plan focuses on growth and innovation, resilience and sustainability, and creative industries and grassroots cooperation. The two cities will cooperate in startup ecosystem development, civil protection, and cultural and…
The average monthly gross wage in Estonia amounted to EUR 2,135 in the first quarter of 2026, which was up 6.2% from the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. Wages increased in all counties, rising by 6.5% to EUR 2,538 in Tallinn, by 6.3% to EUR 2,405 in Harjumaa county, and…