Following the entry into force of the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, human rights groups in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland urged their governments to review migrant pushback practices on the border with Belarus, BNS reported. In a joint statement, Latvia’s I Want to Help Refugees (GPB), Lithuania’s Sienos Grupe, and Poland’s Association for…
Latvia has entered the official election campaign period ahead of the parliamentary elections on 3 October 2026, LSM reports. During the 120-day period, campaigners, media, and other involved parties must comply with strict rules on election campaigning, the Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) noted. KNAB will monitor the use of campaign funds and the…
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…
Latvia’s foreign trade turnover totalled EUR 15.01bn at current prices in the first four months of 2026, which was up EUR 589.1mn (4.1%) from the same period of 2025, according to the Central Statistical Bureau’s (CSP) provisional data, LSM reported. The total value of goods exports amounted to EUR 6.94bn (up 2.2%) and imports to…
Estonia’s exports of goods totalled almost EUR 1.8bn at current prices in April 2026, which was up 13% from the same period of 2025, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Exports of goods of Estonian origin rose by 10%, accounting for 61% of total exports. Re-exports increased by 19% over a year. Meanwhile, imports of…
Employment in Lithuania rose at the fastest pace in the entire EU in the first quarter of 2026, according to Eurostat data, ELTA reported. Lithuania’s employment rate rose by 1.8% over a quarter. Meanwhile, employment in Estonia rose by 0.9% and in Latvia by just 0.1%. However, compared to the first quarter of 2025, the…
Average consumer prices in Latvia rose by 3.5% on year in May 2026, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP), LSM reported. The rise in annual inflation was mainly influenced by the increase in transport fuel prices (up 28.2%) and housing-related energy costs (up 5.8%). At the same time, prices for food and…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend a summit meeting of the prime ministers of the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on 9 June 2026, ERR reports. Zelensky will meet with Estonian President Alar Karis and Prime Minister Kristen Michal, while Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, will meet with his Estonian counterpart,…
French fighter jets within NATO’s Baltic air-policing mission shot down a drone in eastern Latvia in the morning of 8 June 2026, the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS) announced, LSM reports. NBS said that the drone entered Latvian airspace due to Russian “electromagnetic warfare,” TVNET reported. Eyewitness said that the incident occurred near the village…