Opposition parties in Latvia have seized on culturally divisive issues to garner support ahead of the parliamentary elections in October 2026, New Eastern Europe reports. Earlier, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, voted to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women. Opposition parties claim that the human rights treaty is…
Estonia’s populist opposition party, the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), has nominated its founder and former chairman, Mart Helme, as its presidential candidate, ERR reports. Helme said that his key concepts were “nation, family, and home.” Were he to be elected president, Helme said that his first task would be to “restore constitutional order…
Estonia’s three opposition parties, national-conservative Fatherland (Isamaa), populist Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond), and the Social Democratic Party (SDE), are the country’s most popular political parties, according to Norstat’s new poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Fatherland’s support now stands at 26.3%, the Centre Party’s at 21.9%, and SDE’s at 15.1%. The…
The Latvian government is considering a windfall tax on fuel retailers, LETA reports. Under the proposal, fuel retailers would have to pay a solidarity tax if their actual retail price was more than 3% higher than the objectively calculated indicative retail price. Earlier, the government lowered the excise duty on diesel fuel temporarily until 30…
Latvia’s populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), remains the country’s most popular political party, according to a new SKDS poll done in March 2026 for LTV, LSM reports. LPV now has the support of 8.9% of voters, which is up from 8.6% in the previous poll in November 2025. The ruling coalition’s Progressives comes in…
Most Estonians support the re-election of President Alar Karis for a second term in office, according to a new Norstat poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), Baltic News reports. The survey conducted in early March 2026 shows that 70% of respondents support and 17% oppose electing Karis for a second term. He is…
Moldovan President Maia Sandu paid an official visit to Latvia from 31 March to 2 April 2026, LETA reported. Speaking at a joint press conference with her Latvian counterpart, Edgars Rinkevics, Sandu urged Latvia to support Moldova’s EU accession. She noted that Moldovans had voted twice in favour of the country’s European path and that…
Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission (VRK) has allocated EUR 2.5mn of state funding to ten political parties, BNS reports. The ruling Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) received EUR 662,700 and the main opposition party, Homeland Union, EUR 612,000. VRK suspended funding for the far-right coalition party, Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), due to serious violations of…
The council of elders of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, agreed that the next presidential election could be held on 2-3 September 2026, ERR reports. The council will meet again on 26 February 2026 to discuss a possible candidate to the post. Õnne Pillak, chairwoman of the parliamentary group of the ruling Estonian Reform Party,…