Lithuania should spend at least 3.5% of its GDP on defence each year, President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. He said that military spending should be increased “year after year” to implement plans to modernise the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) and host a full German brigade in the country. Meanwhile, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, speaker of the Lithuanian…
Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission (VRK) has completed registration for the parliamentary elections in October 2024, BNS reports. Altogether 1,740 candidates will run for 141 seats in the parliament, the Seimas. Half of the MPs will be elected through party lists that clear the 5% threshold. Altogether 15 party lists have been registered. In addition, 700…
Russian-speaking MPs representing the Latvian opposition party, For Stability, have been fined repeatedly for failure to speak the official state language sufficiently, LSM reports. The State Language Centre (VVC) has issued several administrative fines to MPs representing For Stability for not using Latvian to the extent necessary for the performance of their professional and official…
The Estonian government plans to cut public funding for political parties by 10% in the 2025 state budget, Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced, ERR reports. Both Michal and Regional Affairs Minister Piret Hartman expect that the reduction will have an impact on party activities. Michal said that right-wing parties, which usually receive more support from…
Estonia’s opposition conservative Fatherland (Isamaa) party remained the country’s most popular political party in August 2024, according to the latest Norstat poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Isamaa’s support among voters now stands at 27.6%, followed by the ruling Estonian Reform Party with 19.4% and its coalition partner, the Social Democratic…
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of the ruling Homeland Union (TS-LKD), called on President Gitanas Nauseda to set up a “cordon sanitaire” to prevent radical political forces from coming to power after the parliamentary elections in October 2024, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Landsbergis warned that pandering to radical political…
The victory of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in regional elections was part of a European trend, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said, BNS reports. He attributed AfD’s success to the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, Russian disinformation, and other factors, and “maybe sometimes a lack of strategic leadership.” Landsbergis noted…
Estonia’s liberal Estonia 200 (E200) party, junior partner in the country’s current coalition government, has elected Education Minister Kristina Kallas as its new chairperson, replacing Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, ERR reports. Kallas stressed the importance of values as a “key component” in politics. E200 will now start preparing for upcoming local elections and will strive…
The registration of candidates for elections to the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, ended on 22 July 2024, BNS reports. According to the Central Electoral Commission (VRK), 19 political parties nominated altogether 179 candidates. The list includes three new parties: The Union of Democrats for Lithuania (DSVL) of former prime minister Saulius Skvernelis, the Dawn of…
