The Latvian government has extended the enhanced border protection regime on the border with Belarus for another six months until 30 June 2026, LSM reports. The regime, which is in force in certain parishes and municipalities along the border, was due to expire at the end of 2025. The enhanced control regime was declared due…
Most Latvians are satisfied with their lives, according to a new Eurobarometer survey conducted in October 2025, LETA reports. The survey showed that 84% of Latvian residents were satisfied with their lives, which was the highest figure ever recorded and almost unchanged from spring 2025. Respondents cited rising prices, inflation, and cost of living (33%),…
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) urges Lithuania to reconsider its policy of turning back irregular migrants at the border with Belarus, BNS reports. Annika Sandlund, UNHCR representative to the Nordic and Baltic countries, said that Lithuania should review its emergency legislation that allows pushbacks. Even though irregular migrants were being used for…
All foreign nationals interacting directly with customers in Lithuania will be required to be able to communicate in Lithuanian as of 1 January 2026, LRT reports. The rule applies to both foreign employees and their employers. The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, approved the new regulation in October 2024. However, the exact language proficiency requirements and…
Estonia needs more skilled foreign labour, Hando Sutter, CEO of the Estonian Employers’ Confederation (ETK), stated, ERR reports. Speaking on ETV, Sutter noted that Estonia’s employment rate was now one of the highest in history. At the same time, the number of births was likely to be the lowest in 100 years in 2025, he…
Latvia’s Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) has called on its coalition partner, New Unity, to support withdrawing from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on combating violence against women and domestic violence, LETA reports. ZZS argued that a case of alleged inappropriate behaviour by a foreign worker towards a minor in Liepaja demonstrated that…
Poland will extend temporary checks at its borders with Lithuania and Germany for another six months until 4 April 2026 due to concerns over irregular migration, BNS reports. Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski noted that migrants were moving from Belarus via the Baltic States through Poland to Western Europe. Polish authorities detained around 60 people…
Poland has temporarily reinstated internal controls at 13 checkpoints on its border with Lithuania in response to increased secondary irregular migration via Belarus, LRT reports. Both Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) and the Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association (LINAVA) said that there were no traffic jams on the border on the first day of…
Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT) has reported a sharp rise in secondary migration via Latvia, BNS reports. Altogether 352 irregular migrants who entered Latvia from Belarus were detained in Lithuania and Poland in the first half of 2025, which was up 2.5 times from 140 in the same period of 2024. Most of the…