The Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, has submitted a new application to the European Commission for an additional EUR 357.5mn in funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the Rail Baltica railway project, BNS reports. The European Commission and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency are expected to announce their decisions on…
The European Commission has rejected a request from the three Baltic States for EUR 500mn of EU funding to develop an anti-drone defence system, LRT reports. Lithuanian Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas said that the system would have combined drone detection, AI, and interception technology into an integrated air-defence system. The European Commissioner for Defence and…
Lithuania should resume discussion on the possibility of building a metro system in Vilnius, Vaidas Augustinavicius, chief economic and social policy adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, said, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Augustinavicius argued that the project should be reassessed given the new geopolitical context. He suggested that the underground metro…
Latvia’s Russian-speakers have a markedly more negative attitude towards the EU and NATO than ethnic Latvians, according to a survey conducted by the Riga-based association, Russian Voice for Latvia, LSM reports. The survey showed that, on a scale of 1 to 10, Latvians rated their attitude towards the EU at 8.4 points, while the average…
Baltic and Polish leaders urged the EU to allocate necessary funding for the Rail Baltica railway project under the EU’s multiannual financial framework in 2028-2034, the Office of the President of Lithuania reported. In a joint letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the leaders reaffirmed the…
Income inequality in Latvia and Lithuania was among the highest in the EU in 2025, according to Eurostat data, LSM reported. Latvia’s Gini coefficient, which measures wealth distribution, stood at 35.6, which was up from 34.2 in 2024 and the second-highest in the entire EU. Lithuania’s Gini coefficient was the EU’s third-highest at 35.5 in…
Swedish telecommunications company GlobalConnect will lay a new undersea fibre-optic communications cable connecting Sweden, Estonia, and Finland, ERR reports. The cable will run from Sweden’s Gotland island to Estonia’s Saaremaa and Hiiumaa islands, through the Estonian mainland from Haapsalu to Viimsi, and then to Helsinki in Finland. The project will cost around EUR 40mn, of…
Latvia had around 413,000 seniors aged 65 years and older in the beginning of 2026, which was 25,000 more than in 2016, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) data, LSM reported. Seniors now account for 22.4% of Latvia’s total population, which is up from 19.9% ten years ago. Latvia has the EU’s largest gender…
The Lithuanian government has approved the draft state budget for 2027, BNS reports. Budget revenue, including EU funds, is expected at nearly EUR 22.2bn, which would be up 5.2% from 2026, BNS reports. Budget spending will total EUR 27.9bn, up 1.3% over a year. The State Social Insurance Fund’s (SoDra) revenue is projected at nearly…
