The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, has voted to keep a civil union bill to recognise same-sex partnerships on the agenda of the parliament’s autumn session, BNS reports. Altogether 48 MPs voted to keep the bill on the agenda, another 48 were against, and 7 abstained. MPs initially supported the civil union bill in spring 2023….
Estonia’s Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finance have drafted legislation mandating gender balance on the boards of listed companies, ERR reports. An EU directive requires that at least 40% of supervisory board members or 33% of the total board and council members be from the underrepresented gender by the end of June 2026. Currently,…
Latvia’s partnership law came into effect on 1 July 2024, allowing all couples, including same-sex couples, to register their relationships, LSM reports. A partnership is not equivalent to marriage, however. The first partnership was registered just after midnight by a same-sex couple who began their relationship in early 2019. Kaspars Zalitis of the Dzivesbiedri movement…
The unadjusted gender pay gap in the Baltic States was highest in Estonia in 2022, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. In Estonia, women’s average gross hourly wage was 21.3% lower than that of men in 2022, which was up from 20.5% in 2021. The gender pay gap stood at 17.1% (14.6%) in Latvia and…
There will be no referendum against same-sex civil partnership in Latvia, LSM reports. A campaign to hold a popular referendum to suspend the publication of the new partnership law collected just some 15% of the around 155,000 signatures needed. The campaign, which was supported by the opposition United List, National Alliance, Latvia First, and For…
Lithuania’s ruling coalition has failed to secure enough votes to pass the law on civil union, Ausrine Armonaite, chairwoman of the Freedom Party, conceded, BNS reports. She said that legalising same-sex unions did not receive sufficient support from Freedom Party’s coalition partners, Homeland Union (TS-LKD) and the Lithuanian Liberal Movement (LLS). Armonaite estimated that 66…
Same-sex marriage is now legal under Estonian law as of 1 January 2024, ERR reports. The law allows two consenting adults to marry irrespective of their gender. Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo said that the law ensured equal rights, ending years of legal uncertainty. Same-sex couples, previously able to register civil partnerships, now enjoy…
The Latvian government has approved a draft law on ratifying the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence, LSM reports. An accompanying declaration states that Latvia will apply the convention in line with the Constitution, “in particular with regard to the protection of human rights, equality between women and men,…
The Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) has no intention to make any concessions and will continue to obstruct the current coalition government’s work in the parliament, the Riigikogu, in autumn 2023, EKRE chairman Martin Helme stated, ERR reports. Earlier, the coalition suggested that opposition parties withdraw questions and legislative proposals so as not to…