The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in an extraordinary session an urgent law that allows the state to bail out the country’s ailing national airline, airBaltic, LSM reports. The law, which was rushed through parliament in just one day, will allow the government to acquire around EUR 30mn of more airBaltic bonds. Also, the…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda’s national security adviser, Marius Cesnulevicius, supported a proposal to tighten controls on Russian transit through Lithuanian territory to and from the Kaliningrad region, BNS reports. Earlier, MP Arvydas Anusauskas of the conservative opposition Homeland Union proposed amendments that would cut the transit time from the current 24 hours to 6 hours, ELTA…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda assured that Lithuania was not considering withdrawing from the International Criminal Court (ICC), LRT reports. He insisted that any talk of leaving the ICC was “completely difficult to comprehend.” Earlier, the US urged allied countries, including Lithuania, to withdraw or distance themselves from the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, LRT…
The commander of Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service (VSAT), Rustamas Liubajevas, has resigned, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas announced, LRT reports. Katelynas said that serious questions had arisen about how VSAT had handled and reported a recent violent incident involving migrants on the border with Belarus. Media reports revealed that a group of migrants had attacked…
Lithuania’s Culture Minister, Lukas Alsys, called for a systematic shift away from the use of Russian language in public administration, BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Alsys stressed that government institutions and municipalities in Lithuania communicated in the state language, Lithuanian. However, the policy of phasing out Russian should take into account…
Lithuania’s conservative opposition Homeland Union has submitted to parliament a draft national agreement on demographics for 2026-2040, ELTA reports. The proposal would expand state support for first-time homebuyers, strengthen family policy and access to services, improve work-life balance, and encourage the return of Lithuanian emigrants. Earlier, Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius proposed a cross-party agreement on…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius urged the Catholic Church to cooperate in an investigation into child sexual abuse by two local priests, BNS reported. He called for answers on whether the Church had taken sufficient measures to detect, prevent, and report such abuse. “Moral authority mandates the highest standards of responsibility,” he stated. In the…
A group of US lawmakers urged Lithuania to resist pressure and coercion from communist China and to maintain close relations with democratic Taiwan, BNS reported. In a joint letter sent to Lithuania’s political leaders, the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus of the US House of Representatives noted that China continued to exert pressure on…
The Latvian government said that the financial situation of the country’s national airline, airBaltic, was “very serious,” LSM reports. Earlier, S&P Global Ratings lowered airBaltic’s credit rating from CCC+ to CCC- with a negative outlook, LRT reported. The agency noted that airBaltic’s had insufficient funds to cover its financial obligations and the government may not…
