The EU should cover costs related to confronting Russia, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, Politico reports. He said that the EU should grant an additional EUR 7bn from its next multi-annual budget to compensate for Latvia’s higher defence spending and loss of trade with Russia. Latvia’s projected defence spending over the seven-year budget period…
A group of US lawmakers urged Lithuania to resist pressure and coercion from communist China and to maintain close relations with democratic Taiwan, BNS reported. In a joint letter sent to Lithuania’s political leaders, the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus of the US House of Representatives noted that China continued to exert pressure on…
Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice, Ülle Madise, has confirmed that she is ready to run for president if there is sufficient support in the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, for her candidacy, parliamentary speaker Lauri Hussar announced, ERR reports. Speaking after a meeting of the parliament’s council of elders, Hussar said that parties would now begin collecting…
Estonia has signed an agreement with the European Commission on up to EUR 2.34bn in long-term loans for defence investments through the EU’s Security Action for Europe (SAFE) programme, ERR reports. Under the agreement, the loan period will be 45 years. The Ministry of Defence will use the SAFE funding to acquire air defence capabilities,…
Lithuania is making progress towards normalising relations with communist China, Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said, BNS reports. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania’s position on China remained unchanged, stressing the need for a unified European approach as part of the EU’s common foreign and security policy. He warned that…
Over a quarter of people in the Baltic States could not afford one week of annual holiday travel away from home in 2025, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. In Lithuania, 30.9% of residents could not afford one week of holiday travel in 2025, which was down from 32.2% in 2024. The corresponding share was…
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal stressed the importance of preserving the EU’s Schengen Area, insisting that creating new internal borders within the free movement area was “in no way in the interests of Estonia or Estonians,” ERR reported. He was responding to reactions to the recent sudden influx of irregular migrants from Morocco to Spain’s North…
European Commission official Maive Rute has announced that she is willing to run for president of Estonia, ERR reports. Currently, Rute serves as deputy director-general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, and Entrepreneurship (DG GROW). Her name was first mentioned as a possible presidential candidate by former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves in…
Estonia’s newly appointed ambassador to the US, Hannes Hanso, has announced that he would be ready to run for president, ERR reports. Previously, Hanso has served as Estonia’s ambassador to China, defence minister, mayor of Kuressaare, MP, and MEP. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) from 2009 to 2019. Speaking in…
