Over 7,700 people in Latvia have signed a public petition against withdrawing from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women and domestic violence, LSM reports. Earlier, several parties in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, signalled that they might vote to revoke Latvia’s ratification of the human rights treaty. The Union of Greens…
The leader of Lithuania’s far-right populist Dawn of Nemunas party, MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, has called for abolishing the country’s Constitutional Court, ELTA reports. He insisted that the court had become a “politicised institution” and suggested that its functions be taken over by the Supreme Court instead. In 2024, the Constitutional Court ruled that Zemaitaitis had violated…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in final reading a law on setting up anti-mobility infrastructure along the country’s eastern border, LSM reports. Altogether 75 MPs voted in favour and 12 against the law. Latvia will build anti-tank ditches, obstacles, storage facilities, and other technical solutions over an area of around 2,000 hectares in…
Several hundred people protested outside the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, on 2 October 2025 against a proposal for Latvia to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, LSM reports. The convention aims to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence. MPs from opposition parties and the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS),…
Lithuania’s newly-appointed Culture Minister, Ignotas Adomavicius, has refused to resign despite mass protests across the country against his appointment, BNS reports. Adomavicius is a member of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas party. Cultural workers have held protests in several cities, insisting that Adomavicius is unfit to head the Ministry of Culture as he has no…
MPs from two parties in Estonia’s current coalition government have drafted a bill to cut the gambling tax, ERR reports. The group of MPs from the Estonian Reform Party and Estonia 200 proposed cutting the gambling tax by 0.5 percentage points every year to 4% by 2029. They argued that the tax cut could, in…
Three politicians in Lithuania are running to lead the opposition Lithuanian Liberal Movement (LLS), BNS reports. The candidates are the party’s current chairperson, MP Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, who has led the party since 2019, MP and former culture minister Simonas Kairys, and Plunge mayor Audrius Klisonis. LLS will elect its chair for a two-year term through…
Estonia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) checked around 2,000 bank statements without legal authority, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise announced, ERR reports. FIU had obtained full bank statements via the data exchange layer connected to the enforcement register, whereas the law only allows FIU access to basic information about bank accounts. FIU told ERR that it…
Lithuania’s State Tax Inspectorate (VMI) found no tax violations at a startup company co-owned by Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, BNS reports. VMI initiated checks at battery system developer Garnis, of which Paluckas owns 49%, in June 2025, following a request from the chairman of the opposition Homeland Union, MP Laurynas Kasciunas. Earlier, the state-owned national…
