Consumer confidence in Estonia declined sharply while overall business confidence improved in October 2026, according to Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The consumer confidence index stood at -32.4 percentage points, which was down from -23.5 points in September 2026. The confidence of Estonian consumers in their own financial situation and the country’s general economic situation decreased…
The Baltic States called on the EU to ban transit shipments of Russian grain through EU territory, BNS reported. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda made the call in a joint letter to European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen….
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…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has expanded an existing ban on the import of food from Russia and Belarus, LSM reports. The parliament passed in final reading urgent amendments that will ban the import of not just agricultural goods and animal feed but also food products of Russian and Belarusian origin. The ban will apply…
Latvia’s Central Statistical Bureau (CSP) has begun publishing a list of Latvian companies that export goods to or import goods from Russia or Belarus, LSM reports. CSP will update the list monthly. The list now includes 170 companies, some very well-known ones, that continue to do business with Russia or Belarus in sectors that are…
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…
A group of US lawmakers urged Lithuania to resist pressure and coercion from communist China and to maintain close relations with democratic Taiwan, BNS reported. In a joint letter sent to Lithuania’s political leaders, the co-chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus of the US House of Representatives noted that China continued to exert pressure on…
Latvia will not close its border with Belarus for now, the Latvian government announced, LSM reports. The border checkpoint in Patarnieki, Latvia’s only remaining land border crossing with Belarus, was closed for “technical reasons” on 31 July 2026. As a result, hundreds of trucks are stuck at the border crossing, LSM reports. The Ministry of…
Lithuania is making progress towards normalising relations with communist China, Juozas Olekas, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, said, BNS reports. Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said that Lithuania’s position on China remained unchanged, stressing the need for a unified European approach as part of the EU’s common foreign and security policy. He warned that…
