Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene called for renaming the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius to “Taipei Representative Office” instead, BNS reports. She argued that the decision to open the Taiwanese representation under its current name was a “hasty step,” suggesting that the mistake be corrected. However, such a move would not be a quick decision…
Corruption remained considerably lower in Estonia than in Latvia and Lithuania in 2025, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, ERR reports. Estonia ranked 12th on the index, which was up from 13th place in 2024, BNS reported. Meanwhile, Lithuania came in on 28th (32nd) and Latvia on 37th (38th) place, LSM reported. Estonia scored 76…
Lithuania’s Special Investigation Service (STT) has searched the offices and homes of two prominent opposition MPs, Saulius Skvernelis and Kazys Starkevicius, as part of a corruption probe, BNS reports. STT suspects transport companies of paying bribes totalling around EUR 1.5mn to officials at the State Plant Service (VATZUM) in exchange for phytosanitary certificates. The agency’s…
China remains open to dialogue with Lithuania, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated, Reuters reported. China hopes that Lithuania will “translate its willingness to improve bilateral relations into concrete action and promptly rectify its error,” he said. Earlier, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene stated that the previous government had made a “major mistake” in…
Authorities in Latvia and Lithuania have opened investigations into information in documents related to the convicted US sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. The documents contain hundreds of references to Latvia and Lithuania, including indications that Epstein’s associates had recruited young women and children for sexual exploitation through local modelling agencies, LETA and LRT reported. Latvia’s State…
Lithuanian officials have been making public statements recently suggesting a possible rapprochement in relations with neighbouring Belarus, only to retract their remarks afterwards, LRT reports. Observers say that the comments may be an attempt to test whether Lithuanian public opinion on Belarus is changing. Officials have suggested opening talks with Belarus and easing sanctions imposed…
The number of foreign travellers visiting Lithuania totalled 1.5 million in 2025, which was 4.4% more than in 2024, according to the State Data Agency (VDA), BNS reports. Foreign tourists stayed an average of four nights in Lithuania, which was the main travel destination for 77% of all arrivals. According to state-run tourism promotion agency…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned of “risks associated with overly close engagement with the Chinese regime,” BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Nauseda said that Lithuania “did not take pleasure” in the current rupture of diplomatic ties with China, but noted that restoring relations would require goodwill from both sides. He compared…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda pledged to push for the EU to extend sanctions imposed against Belarus, BNS reports. He pointed to the Belarusian regime’s continued alignment with Russia, repression of political opponents, and repeated hybrid attacks against Lithuania. EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius agreed that there was no reason for the EU to remove the…