Latvia’s left-of-centre party, the Progressives, will not leave the country’s three-party coalition government for now, Andris Suvajevs, leader of the party’s parliamentary group, announced, LETA reports. However, he insisted that Prime Minister Evika Silina, head of the ruling New Unity party, was unable to lead the government. The Progressives will invite Silina for talks. Meanwhile,…
Estonia’s incumbent president, Alar Karis, said that he would indicate by July 2026 if he wants to run for a second term, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview with Vikerraadio, Karis noted that there was still several months until the election in September 2026, and that candidates could only be nominated in early July 2026….
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina sharply criticised Defence Minister Andris Spruds after drones from Russia crashed in Latvian territory, LETA reported. Silina pointed to the lack of timely warning to local residents about the incoming drones. The government’s EUR 2bn defence budget means that people will expect accountability from the minister, she stated. Silina said…
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal suggested that former president Kersti Kaljulaid could be nominated as a candidate in presidential elections due in September 2026, ERR reports. Michal noted that incumbent president Alar Karis did not seem to have sufficient support in the parliament, the Riigikogu, to be reelected for a second term. Earlier, Lauri Läänemets,…
Several unmanned aerial vehicles entered Latvian airspace from Russia, and two of them crashed in eastern Latvia, in the early morning hours of 7 May 2026, according to the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), LETA reported. One of the drones crashed at East-West Transit’s oil storage facility in Rezekne, LETA reported. No significant damage and…
Estonia’s national-conservative opposition party, Fatherland (Isamaa), remained the country’s most popular party in April 2026, according to Norstat’s poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Fatherland’s support stands at 26.4%, followed by the opposition Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond) with 22.4%, the populist opposition Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) with 14.1%, and…
Opposition parties in Latvia have seized on culturally divisive issues to garner support ahead of the parliamentary elections in October 2026, New Eastern Europe reports. Earlier, the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, voted to withdraw from the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women. Opposition parties claim that the human rights treaty is…
Estonia’s new motor vehicle tax and registration fee, which were introduced as of 1 January 2025, generated total revenue of EUR 151mn in 2025, ERR reports. Registration fee revenue totalled EUR 64.2mn in 2025, which was more than 50% less than the projected EUR 137mn. Meanwhile, revenue from the motor vehicle tax was close to…
Estonia’s populist opposition party, the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), has nominated its founder and former chairman, Mart Helme, as its presidential candidate, ERR reports. Helme said that his key concepts were “nation, family, and home.” Were he to be elected president, Helme said that his first task would be to “restore constitutional order…
