Estonia’s Finance Minister, Jürgen Ligi, vowed to defend budget discipline and push back against populist spending proposals ahead of the parliamentary elections in March 2027, ERR reported. Ligi said that the country’s political culture had deteriorated badly, and acknowledged that populism had crept into his own Estonian Reform Party as well. He insisted on the…
The Estonian government has approved a new climate law, sending the draft bill to the country’s parliament, the Riigikogu, for consideration, ERR reports. The legislation establishes general greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for 2030, 2035, and 2040. The parliament has already set a goal for climate neutrality by 2050. Sector-specific emission reduction targets are included…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda supports discussions on changing the country’s constitution to allow hosting nuclear weapons in the country, BNS reports. The presence of allied nuclear weapons could serve as an appropriate and proportionate deterrent against armed aggression from hostile states, Nauseda argued. Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, stated that such…
Lithuania’s parliamentary committee on culture has approved amendments to the controversial draft law governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), LRT reported. The committee approved a new management board, an expanded governing council, shorter four-year council terms, and tighter eligibility requirements for council member candidates. The committee dropped proposals to let…
Estonia’s ruling coalition plans to pass a new climate law before the parliamentary elections due in March 2027, the Minister of Energy and the Environment, Andres Sutt, announced, ERR reports. Prime Minister Kristen Michal expects the parliament, the Riigikogu, to begin discussing the draft law before summer 2026 and approve the legislation in autumn 2026….
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has passed amendments banning citizens of hostile third countries from making donations to Estonian political parties, ERR reports. Earlier, Estonia precluded non-EU nationals from voting in local elections. The Riigikogu expanded also the supervisory powers of the Political Party Funding Surveillance Committee (ERJK), allowing the body to request documents and…
Latvia’s Central Election Commission (CVK) has registered a signature campaign for holding a referendum on changing the country’s state-funded pension system, LSM reports. The populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), initiated the referendum campaign after the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, rejected the party’s legislative proposal. The referendum campaign is very unlikely to succeed, however. Under…
The Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional law, the Venice Commission, urged the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, to improve draft amendments to the law governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. The commission said that the draft law may violate the European Convention on Human Rights and the…
Around 50 members of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, have proposed holding a popular referendum on redefining the concept of family in the country’s constitution, LRT reports. The MPs argue that the Constitutional Court exceeded its authority when ruling that the concept of family was gender-neutral and not exclusive to married couples, and that limiting…