Hungarian banking group OTP Bank’s operations in Russia raise “legitimate questions” about its planned acquisition of the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, Lithuania’s central bank, the Bank of Lithuania, stated, Reuters reports. Earlier, OTP Bank announced that it had signed an agreement to buy Estonia-based Luminor. The Bank of Lithuania said that the European Central…
Hungary’s OTP Bank has signed an agreement to acquire the Baltic banking group, Luminor Bank, from US-based private equity fund manager Blackstone and Norway’s DNB Bank, Baltic News reports. OTP Bank had already expressed interest in acquiring Luminor several years ago, LETA reported. Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltic States….
Latvia and Lithuania and six other EU member states have joined Estonia’s call to ban EU funding for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ERR reported. Earlier, the IOC executive committee provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, allowing Russian athletes to return to international competitions under the Russian flag. Under the Estonian proposal,…
Lithuania’s new government is not expected to make any major changes in foreign policy, LRT reports. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius named regional security, Baltic cooperation, and strengthening ties with the US as his priorities, BNS and The Baltic Times reported. The government calls for a more united Europe, while maintaining strategic partnerships with Germany, Poland,…
At their summit in the Turkish capital, Ankara, NATO leaders decided to turn the alliance’s rotating Baltic Air Policing mission into an air defence mission, ERR reported. The change will allow NATO fighter aircraft to respond more rapidly to threats in Baltic airspace. NATO’s air operations centre in Uedem, Germany, will have authority to decide…
Russia may be planning provocations against the Baltic States or Poland to test NATO unity, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics warned, BNS and LETA reported. Nauseda said that intelligence indicated that Russia could be preparing “targeted kinetic operations” against critical infrastructure in the region. Rinkevics said that the intelligence reports pointed…
Latvia will deploy more air defence systems to its eastern border, Defence Minister Raivis Melnis announced, LETA reported. Speaking during a meeting with local government leaders, Melnis said that the deployment would include drones, radars, and interception systems, LSM reported. He thanked Ukraine for providing necessary help. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said that new counter-drone…
Russia has closed several railway checkpoints on the borders with Finland, Estonia, and Latvia as of 1 July 2026, The Baltic Times reports. The official notice indicated no end date or reason for the closure. The order applies to the Lyttä, Värtsilä, and Svetogorsk (Enso) checkpoints on Russia’s border with Finland, the Pechory (Petseri) checkpoint…
Latvia’s ruling United List alliance and the populist opposition party, Latvia First (LPV), were the country’s most popular political parties in June 2026, according to a new SKDS poll for LTV, LSM reports. United List’s support stood at 9.8%, which was up sharply from 6.8% in April-May 2026. Support for LPV was 9.8% as well,…
