The council of elders of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, will meet in early August 2026 to discuss the election of the country’s next president, ERR reports. Parliamentary speaker Lauri Hussar said that the council would meet within the next two weeks. He hoped that all parliamentary parties would come to the meeting with a…
Latvia has closed its border with Belarus for “technical reasons,” Interior Minister Janis Dombrava announced late on 31 July 2026, LSM reports. A day earlier, Dombrava urged Latvian residents not to travel across the border to or from Belarus. Kristine Petersone, spokesperson for Latvia’s State Border Guard (VRS), said that the border was closed due…
European Commission official Maive Rute has announced that she is willing to run for president of Estonia, ERR reports. Currently, Rute serves as deputy director-general of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, and Entrepreneurship (DG GROW). Her name was first mentioned as a possible presidential candidate by former president Toomas Hendrik Ilves in…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has proposed stricter rules on migration, BNS reports. Under the proposal, labour migrants would be required to leave Lithuania for at least six months after every two years of work. Also, the labour migrant quota would include not only new migrants but also those already in Lithuania. Skirmantas Bikelis, senior research…
Estonia’s newly appointed ambassador to the US, Hannes Hanso, has announced that he would be ready to run for president, ERR reports. Previously, Hanso has served as Estonia’s ambassador to China, defence minister, mayor of Kuressaare, MP, and MEP. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) from 2009 to 2019. Speaking in…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has turned to the State Security Service (VDD) over Hungarian banking group OTP Bank’s plan to acquire the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, LSM reports. He noted that the statement of intent on the possible acquisition was just the start of the process, adding that regulatory approval for the deal would…
A group of 30 public figures in Estonia have nominated Indrek Laul, CEO of Estonia Piano Factory, for president, ERR reports. The group behind Laul’s candidacy, which includes prominent entrepreneurs, academics, and cultural figures, stressed the need to bring together “knowledge, culture, and entrepreneurship.” Laul said that he would seek to unite “different worldviews, different…
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Lithuania to pay damages to a Saudi national who was detained at a secret CIA prison in the country, BNS reports. The court found that the man was held at the so-called black site near Vilnius for more than five months in 2005-2006. The man, who…
Lithuania may impose temporary border controls with Latvia due to a surge in the number of irregular migrants arriving from Belarus via Latvia, Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas warned, LRT reported. He insisted that Lithuania cannot become a “transit country that anyone can pass through” and urged Latvia to take more responsibility for the problem, LRT and BNS…
