Recent Belarusian actions against #Lithuania "could be recognised as #terrorism," Lithuanian PM Inga Ruginiene stated. She was referring to the launch of smuggler balloons from #Belarus into Lithuanian airspace and the detention of Lithuanian trucks in Belarus.

Industrial #production in #Latvia increased by 8.8% on year in October 2025, the Central Statistical Bureau reported. Output in #electricity and #gas supply rose by 10.1% and in #manufacturing by 9.5%, but fell by 16.1% in #mining.

The government in #Estonia has approved a national action plan to ensure equal opportunity and protection for #LGBTIQ people. Estonia should be "a great place for LGBTIQ people to live," the plan states.

#Tallinn Airport in #Estonia will expand its passenger terminal to be able to handle up to 5.5 million passengers per year by 2030. The expansion project, costing an estimated EUR 75mn, will be the airport's largest #investment ever.

The parliament in #Latvia has approved draft laws accompanying the state #budget for 2026. The government's budget priorities are national #security, support for #families with #children, and high-quality #education.

A court in #Lithuania has found MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA) party, guilty of antisemitic #hatespeech. PPNA is part of the current coalition #government. Zemaitaitis vowed to appeal.

#Lithuania recorded the biggest increase and #Estonia the largest decrease in net #electricity generation in the EU over 2013-2023, according to Eurostat #data. At the same time, household electricity #consumption rose sharply in Lithuania, was almost flat in Estonia, and fell slightly in #Latvia.

#Gender equality in #Lithuania improved in 2025, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality's Gender #Equality Index. Lithuania ranked 14th out of 27 EU member states, which was up from 16th place in 2024.

Swedish-owned #IKEA Group has received #competition clearance to acquire Swedish-owned forestry group Södra's #forest land in #Estonia. Under the deal, IKEA Group's subsidiary, Ingka #Investments, will buy Södra's forests in Estonia and #Latvia for EUR 720mn.

The government in #Lithuania may declare an #emergency due to the #security threat posed by smuggler balloons launched from #Belarus, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic announced. Opposition leaders criticised the government for weakness in responding to the balloon incursions.

Latvia's State Real Estate (VNI) plans to complete the #construction of a #security fence along the full stretch of the country's #border with #Russia by the end of 2025. VNI finished building a fence on the #Belarus border in July 2024.

In #Estonia, state-owned postal services provider Omniva (Eesti Post) will nearly halve the number of #post offices in 2026. At the same time, the company will greatly expand its network of automated parcel terminals.

#Lithuania has decided to accept half of allocated #migrants and pay for the rest under the EU's #migration and #asylum pact. PM Inga Ruginiene said that the government would seek to lower the number of accepted migrants to no more than 40.

The parliament in #Latvia has approved amendments to cut state support for #refugees from #Ukraine in 2026. The government will stop paying support to #Ukrainians who have found employment. There are over 31,000 Ukrainian citizens, including almost 7,000 children, registered in Latvia.

The opposition Fatherland party remained the most popular political party in #Estonia in November 2025, according to Norstat's latest #poll. Fatherland's support is now at 29.1%. The ruling coalition has just 12.6% support, whereas overall support for opposition #parties stands at 78.1%.

The average monthly gross #wage in #Lithuania amounted to EUR 2,427.6 in Q3/2025, which was up 8.5% on year, the State #Data Agency reported. Compared to Q2/2025, the average wage rose by 1.7%. Average #wages rose in all municipalities.

Consumers in #Latvia are not buying homes due to high #prices, insufficient funds, and economic uncertainty, according to a Norstat #survey for Luminor #Bank in September 2025. The survey showed that 27% of Latvian residents cited high #realestate prices as the main obstacle to purchasing a home.

The harmonised index of consumer #prices (HICP) in #Estonia rose by 4.7% on year in November 2025, according to #Statistics Estonia's flash estimate. Compared to October 2025, the #HICP fell by 0.5%, however.

#Lithuania does not oppose the European Commission's decision to withdraw a #WTO case over China's #trade restrictions on Lithuanian goods, Lithuania's Foreign Ministry announced. However, the ministry pointed out that #China continued to restrict five categories of Lithuanian #exports.

Gender equality in #Latvia worsened sharply in 2025, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality's #Gender #Equality Index. Latvia ranked 24th out of 27 EU member states on the index in 2025, which was down from 19th place in 2024.

In #Estonia, the city council of the country's second-largest city, #Tartu, has elected Tõnis Lukas of the conservative Fatherland party as its new chairman. Meanwhile, the city council in the largely Russian-speaking border city of #Narva elected pro-Russian Mihhail Stalnuhhin as its new chairman.

#Estonia, #Latvia, #Lithuania, and #Denmark have signed a cooperation agreement on joint purchases of #medicines. The agreement is expected to enable purchases of larger volumes, helping ensure lower #prices and better terms of delivery.

The EU is preparing new #sanctions against #Belarus, following repeated incursions of smuggler balloons from Belarus into #Lithuania, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced. Lithuanian PM Inga Ruginiene warned that Lithuania may close its #border with Belarus again.

The city council of the capital of #Estonia, #Tallinn, has elected Mihhail Kõlvart, chairman of the Estonian Centre Party, as its new speaker. Earlier, the Centre Party signed a coalition agreement with national conservative party Fatherland.

Fitch Ratings has downgraded the long-term IDR of the national airline of #Latvia, #airBaltic, from B-/Negative to CCC+. The agency noted that airBaltic's indebtedness was higher and financial flexibility weaker than expected. Also, Fitch highlighted uncertainty over airBaltic's planned #IPO.

#Lithuania has applied for EUR 6.375bn of support from the European Commission's #Security Action for #Europe (SAFE) instrument to finance around 50 #defence projects. Lithuania will use some of the funds for joint procurement of #military equipment with #Ukraine.

A group of MPs in #Lithuania are pushing for the restoration of full diplomatic relations with communist #China. The group's chairman, MP Ignas Vegele, argued that the previous government's "values-based" #foreignpolicy had harmed #trade relations.

Estonia's #GDP grew by 0.9% on year in Q3/2025, #Statistics #Estonia reported. Compared to Q2/2025, GDP rose by 0.4%. #Exports were up by 5.7% and #imports by 5.6%.

In #Lithuania, staff at public broadcaster LRT will organise a week-long protest against a proposal to make it easier to remove the company's director general. Journalist and civil society organisations accuse members of the ruling coalition of trying to bring LRT under political control.

The average monthly gross wage in #Latvia was EUR 1,835 in Q3/2025, which was up 7.8% over a year, the Central Statistical Bureau reports. Compared to Q2/2025, the average wage rose by 1.5%. The average net #wage amounted to EUR 1,361, which was up 10.5% from a year earlier.

In #Estonia, the opposition Estonian Centre Party and Fatherland have signed a coalition agreement to govern the country's capital, #Tallinn, for the next four years. Under the agreement, the posts of mayor and city council chairman will alternate between the two parties.

#Lithuania has lifted flight restrictions after disruptions caused by smuggling balloons from neighbouring #Belarus. Around 60 balloons were detected during the shutdown, blocking access to #Vilnius Airport for almost 11 hours.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna of #Estonia pushed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for a proposal on using frozen Russian assets to help #Ukraine. He insisted that a legal solution already existed to provide necessary guarantees to #Belgium against claims from #Russia.

Rating agency S&P Global has affirmed its A/A-1 sovereign credit rating for #Latvia with a stable outlook, unchanged from May 2025. The agency forecasts that Latvia's #GDP will grow by 1.5% in 2025 and 2.25% in 2026.

Estonia ranks highest in the #Baltic States on the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global #Innovation Index in 2025. #Estonia ranks 16th on the global #index of 139 economies, followed by #Lithuania on 33rd place and #Latvia on 41st place.

Three MPs in #Lithuania have submitted a draft resolution to recognise #Palestine. The resolution was submitted by two MPs from far-right populist party Dawn of Nemunas and an MP from the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union. Both parties are members of the current coalition #government.

A rail link to the Latvian capital, #Riga, is planned to be built in the second phase of the Rail Baltica #railway project, Marko Kivila, CEO of the #Baltic joint venture, RB Rail, said. He urged #Latvia to open a shuttle #train service to connect Riga to the railway's main line.

Estonia's consumer price index rose by 5.2% on year in September 2025, driven mostly by a 7.7% increase in #food #prices, #Statistics #Estonia reported. Compared to August 2025, #inflation fell by 1.1%.

The #Baltic Assembly has announced its annual #awards in #arts, #literature, and #science. The arts #prize went to Latvian conductor Kaspars Putnins, the literature prize to Lithuanian author Tomas Venclova, and the science prize to Estonian political scientist Eva Piirimäe.

All #foreigners interacting directly with #customers in #Lithuania will have to be able to communicate in #Lithuanian as of 1 January 2026. A poll showed that 80% of #Lithuanians wanted foreign #service sector workers to speak Lithuanian.

The Consumer Rights Protection Centre of #Latvia (PTAC) may sue e-moped #rental company Ride for its refusal to suspend operations as ordered. PTAC told Ride to halt its service after two teenagers died in a #traffic accident in #Riga.

#Estonia needs more skilled foreign #labour, Hando Sutter, CEO of the Estonian Employers' Confederation, stated. He noted that the country's #employment rate and number of #births were at their lowest ever, and lamented the presence of #xenophobia in Estonian society.

Several people were detained in #Lithuania after smuggler balloons disrupted #flights at #Vilnius #Airport overnight on 4 October 2025. The balloons carrying contraband #cigarettes were launched from neighbouring #Belarus.

Latvia's Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) has called on its coalition partner, New Unity, to support #Latvia withdrawing from the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating #violence against #women. ZZS argued that the convention did not, in fact, work.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna of #Estonia panned comments by German ex-Chancellor Angela #Merkel who implied that the #Baltic States and #Poland bore indirect responsibility for Russian aggression against #Ukraine. Western policy mistakes, including by Merkel, emboldened #Russia, he stated.

Industrial #production in the #Baltic States increased the most in #Latvia in August 2025 on year. Industrial output rose by 2.4% in Latvia, 1% in #Estonia, and 0.1% in #Lithuania. Compared to July 2025, output in Baltic #industry was up 2.1% in Lithuania and 1.5% in Estonia but down 2.4% in Latvia.

The ruling coalition in #Latvia has failed to secure a quorum in #parliament for two weeks during votes on contested bills. #Opposition parties have broken the quorum to preempt final votes on transposing EU directives on #emission trading systems into national #law.

Employers and trade unions in #Estonia have begun talks on raising the minimum #wage. Under an agreement signed in 2022, the minimum wage was due to rise to 50% of the country's average wage by 2027.

Thousands of people in #Lithuania protested on 5 October 2025 against the government's decision to hand control of the Ministry of Culture to the far-right populist party, Dawn of Nemunas. The protest manifesto urged citizens to defend #culture, #democracy, and #freedom of expression.

A #Nordic and #Baltic training camp for Ukrainian soldiers, Camp Jomsborg, has been opened in #Poland. The camp will train up to 1,200 #soldiers at a time. Also, #Estonia and #Ukraine have launched a project to train over 500 Ukrainian #cyber specialists under the international Tallinn Mechanism.