Lithuania’s Interior Minister, Martynas Katelynas, has asked Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas to deploy troops to the country’s border with Russia’s Kaliningrad region, BNS reports. Katelynas said that the troop deployment was a preventive measure in response to an armed incident on Latvia’s border with Belarus. Speaking in an interview with Die Welt, Prime Minister Mindaugas…
The founder and chairman of Lithuanian property developer Hanner, Arvydas Avulis, is the country’s most influential business person, according to two new polls, BNS reports. Avulis ranked highest in surveys of both the country’s professional elite and general public. Combining the two polls, 51.6% of respondents ranked Avulis first. Dainius Dundulis, founder and owner of…
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics has asked Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs of the United List alliance to form a new government, LSM reports. Rinkevics hoped that the new government could be formed by 18 November 2026, LETA reported. He said that United List had obtained a “very impressive mandate” in the parliamentary elections on 3 October…
The US failed to invite several NATO allies, including the three Baltic States, to a working group meeting in Poland to discuss the future of the alliance, Politico reported. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that Estonia had not received an invitation, but stressed that the gathering was not an official NATO meeting, ERR reported. Defence…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved in an extraordinary session an urgent law that allows the state to bail out the country’s ailing national airline, airBaltic, LSM reports. The law, which was rushed through parliament in just one day, will allow the government to acquire around EUR 30mn of more airBaltic bonds. Also, the…
The EU should cover costs related to confronting Russia, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, Politico reports. He said that the EU should grant an additional EUR 7bn from its next multi-annual budget to compensate for Latvia’s higher defence spending and loss of trade with Russia. Latvia’s projected defence spending over the seven-year budget period…
Lithuania’s Culture Minister, Lukas Alsys, called for a systematic shift away from the use of Russian language in public administration, BNS reported. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Alsys stressed that government institutions and municipalities in Lithuania communicated in the state language, Lithuanian. However, the policy of phasing out Russian should take into account…
The Latvian government has decided to extend the repayment period on a EUR 30mn emergency loan issued to the country’s national airline, airBaltic, until the end of 2026, LSM reports. The loan was due by the end of August 2026. Also, the government gave conceptual approval to buying an additional EUR 30mn of airBaltic’s bonds…
Latvia’s United List continues to oppose the ratification of the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention on violence against women, but is not committed to withdrawing from the treaty immediately, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated, LETA reports. He said that the question should not be made into a top political priority, given that the treaty had…
