The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments banning the import of certain industrial goods from Russia and Belarus, LETA reports. The amendments ban the import of books, newspapers, video games, sporting goods, toys, clothing, and footwear either directly or indirectly from Russia and Belarus. Transit shipments of such goods to other countries will not…
Hourly labour costs in the Baltic States rose the fastest in Lithuania in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, ELTA reported. Nominal hourly labour costs in the whole economy rose by 8.6% in Lithuania, 6.2% in Estonia, and 2.3% in Latvia from the first quarter of 2025. Hourly wage costs alone went…
Three political groups in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, have signed an agreement on a new coalition government, BNS reports. The new ruling coalition will include the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), the Union of Democrats for Lithuania, and the joint parliamentary group of the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens and the Electoral Action…
The prime ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries announced that the group would cooperate with Ukraine on military expertise and training, information sharing, and the development of their defence industries and technology, ERR reports. Joining the summit meeting in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready to supply…
Estonia’s industrial production output declined by 3.8% on year in April 2026, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reported. Output increased by 14.3% in mining, but decreased by 14.9% in energy production and by 3.2% in manufacturing. Compared to March 2026, industrial production grew by 1.2%. Riin Kadarik, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted…
Latvia’s industrial production output increased by 7.0% in April 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) calendar-adjusted data at constant prices, LSM reported. Output in manufacturing rose by 6.8% and in electricity and gas supply by 12.1%, while output in mining and quarrying fell by 8.3% over…
Latvia’s industrial production output increased by 9.2% in the first quarter of 2026, compared to the same period of 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) calendar-adjusted data at constant prices, LSM reported. Output rose by 1.0% in manufacturing and by 40.6% in electricity and gas supply, but fell by 30.7% in mining and…
Estonia’s industrial production declined by 3.1% at constant prices in March 2026 compared to the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Output increased by 5.9% in mining, but decreased by 19.5% in energy production and by 1.2% in manufacturing. In the manufacturing sector, output in wood processing rose by 5%, fabricated…
Estonia’s Minister of Finance, Jürgen Ligi, has rejected a proposal to lower the excise duty on diesel fuel temporarily, ERR reports. Ligi argued that broad-based tax cuts would have a very large and lasting negative impact on the state budget, and that targeted measures to support vulnerable households and sectors would be more sensible. In…
