The Estonian government’s job approval continued to be dismal in November 2025, according to the latest Norstat poll for the Institute for Societal Research (YI), ERR reports. Only 28% of eligible voters think that the government is doing a good job, while 66% think that the government is doing its job poorly. Prime Minister Kristen…
Lithuania cannot acquiesce to China’s conditions on the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius, Asta Skaisgiryte, chief foreign policy adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, stated, BNS reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Skaisgiryte said that there had been no significant progress in talks on restoring full diplomatic ties with China. She did not disclose…
Latvia’s Ministry of Defence has announced details on its planned spending under the government’s defence budget in 2026, LSM reports. Latvia will spend a total of EUR 2.158bn on defence in 2026, which will be 4.91% of the estimated annual GDP. Altogether EUR 1.14bn (53%) of the defence budget will go to buy new military…
Estonia’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, Jaap Ora, has resigned after an uproar over Estonia’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine, ERR reports. Earlier, Eesti Ekspress reported that during the state visit of Estonian President Alar Karis to Kazakhstan in November 2025, Ora had advised that the president tone down his remarks on Ukraine so as not…
Belarus is holding altogether 185 Lithuanian trucks and trailers, Dovile Kraulaidiene, deputy director general of the Lithuanian Customs Department (LMD), announced, BNS reports. Earlier, the Lithuanian National Road Carriers Association (LINAVA) reported to authorities that 488 Lithuanian trucks were being detained in Belarus. However, publicly the association has provided much higher figures, claiming that as…
The supervisory council of Estonia’s public broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), has dismissed its long-term chairman, Rein Veidemann, ERR reports. Earlier, Veidemann had criticised an interview of a same-sex couple with two children that was aired on ETV, saying that the programme ran counter to the values of the majority of Estonians. ERR’s supervisory council elected…
Thousands of people gathered outside the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on 9 December 2025 to protest against planned changes to the management of the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. Location data from mobile operators showed that around 40,000 people took part in the demonstration, DELFI reported. The protesters accused…
The new chairman of the city council of Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, Tõnis Lukas, has declined to join the city council faction of his own party, Fatherland (Isamaa), ERR reports. Lukas refused to be member of the same coalition as social media influencer Kris Kärner, who has made disparaging and threatening comments about Lukas and…
The city council of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, has elected Peeter Raudsepp of the national conservative Fatherland (Isamaa) party as the city’s new mayor, BNS reports. Prior to his election, Raudsepp was director of the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI), ERR reports. He will serve as mayor for two years, after which the mayorship…