Housing prices in the Baltic States rose the most in Lithuania in the second quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, BNS reported. Compared to the second quarter of 2025, housing prices in Lithuania rose by 14.3%, which was the third-largest increase in the EU. In Latvia, housing prices went up by 11.4% and in…
The Estonian government has approved amendments to the law regulating the operations of the country’s public broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), ERR reports. Culture Minister Heidy Purga said that the changes would bring the law into line with EU regulations. The amendments would introduce a four-year funding agreement for ERR and fixed-term contracts for editorial management….
The share of new businesses registered in proportion to the number of active enterprises in Lithuania was the highest in the entire EU in 2024, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. Lithuania’s so-called enterprise birth rate stood at 17.5% in 2024, compared to 13.9% in Latvia and 12.1% in Estonia. The EU average was 10.4%….
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has elected Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise as the country’s next president for a five-year term, ERR reports. Madise received 71 votes in the first round of voting in the 101-member parliament. She was the only candidate. MPs of the opposition Estonian Centre Party and Conservative People’s Party of Estonia…
The Lithuanian government has declared a nationwide emergency and four municipalities have declared local emergencies after a severe storm on 22-23 August 2026, BNS reported. Wind speeds reached up to 33 mps on the seaside and a month’s rain fell in 12 hours in some areas, according to the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT), BNS reported….
Latvia was hit by the strongest storm since 1966 on the night of 22-23 August 2026, LSM reported. Wind speeds exceeded 30 mps in some areas, according to the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVGMC), LETA reported. Several injuries and one fatality were recorded. Electricity distributor Sadales Tikls reported that the storm cut power…
One of the prime architects of the restoration of Estonia’s independence, Siim Kallas, has died at the age of 77 years, his daughter, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, announced, ERR reports. Kallas served as president of the Bank of Estonia in 1991-1995, member of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, in 1995-2004 and 2019-2024, foreign…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s national security adviser, Marius Cesnulevicius, supported a proposal to tighten controls on Russian transit through Lithuanian territory to and from the Kaliningrad region, BNS reports. Earlier, MP Arvydas Anusauskas of the conservative opposition Homeland Union proposed amendments that would cut the transit time from the current 24 hours to 6 hours, ELTA…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda assured that Lithuania was not considering withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), LRT reports. He insisted that any talk of leaving the ICC was “completely difficult to comprehend.” Earlier, the US urged allied countries, including Lithuania, to withdraw or distance themselves from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, LRT…
