Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda was inaugurated as president for a second term on 12 July 2024, LRT reports. In his inaugural address, Nauseda pledged to strengthen national security, defend Lithuanian interests in foreign policy, continue supporting Ukraine, and foster ties with the US. He called for raising Lithuania’s defence budget to 4% of GDP by…
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has submitted her resignation to President Alar Karis, ERR reports. Kallas will also resign from her post as chairperson of the Estonian Reform Party. Earlier, she was nominated as the EU’s foreign policy chief. Kallas will remain acting head of the government until the new coalition is sworn into office, which…
Estonia needs to discuss the possible introduction of tuition fees in higher education, Toomas Asser, rector of the University of Tartu, stated, ERR reports. He said that maintaining the quality of education with state budget funds only was becoming unsustainable, noting that even affluent countries struggle to fund high-quality education exclusively with public funds. Asser…
National security, defence, and education will remain the main priorities of Lithuania’s state budget in 2025, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte stated, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Info TV, Simonyte said that the government would spend a large part of budget revenues to raise pensions, increase teacher salaries, and service the public debt. The…
Underage marriages still occur in Lithuania primarily due to teenage pregnancies, despite a decline in recent years, LRT reports. Legislation allows courts to lower the legal marriage age of 18 in cases such as pregnancy. However, this practice has been criticised by the United Nations and children’s rights advocates, who argue that minors cannot give…
Latvia’s State Audit Office (LRVK) has criticised the Ministry of Education and Science for ineffective policies in attracting and retaining teachers, LETA reports. A significant portion of new teachers leave within five years due to systemic issues, including constant changes, insufficient teaching materials, poor remuneration, and uncertainty about reforms. The audit notes that the ministry’s…
In the 2023/2024 school year, Latvian ninth-graders performed best in English exams, with an average score of 63.9%, and worst in mathematics, with an average score of 43.2%, according to data from the National Centre for Education (VISC), LETA reports. Both results were lower compared to the previous year, when students averaged 66.1% in English…
Smoking rates in Latvia are rising again after a decade of decline, LSM reports. Children are starting to smoke at a younger age, with a notable increase in electronic cigarette use among those aged 15-24 years. Public health experts highlight the misconception among parents that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than traditional ones. They emphasise…
An agreement on the automatic recognition of degrees of higher education between the Benelux and Baltic countries came into effect as of 1 May 2024, BNS reports. The agreement facilitates academic mobility and promotes university cooperation between the six countries. The agreement attests that the quality of national higher education systems is reliable.