Events, data and analysis from the Baltic economies
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The Port of Klaipėda has launched the main construction tender for its southern expansion, moving Lithuania’s largest port development project towards creation of 100 hectares of new territory and 1.3 kilometres of new quay infrastructure. The new area…
Fitch Ratings has downgraded airBaltic’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to D, following the Latvian airline’s decision to enter Chapter 11 financial reorganisation in the United States. In Fitch’s methodology, a D rating applies to an issuer that has…
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have effectively moved the common operational horizon for Rail Baltica from 2030 to 2034, while narrowing the first-stage priority to a continuous Tallinn–Kaunas–Poland backbone. On 22 September, roughly 247 km of the main line…
PhotoLatvia’s government has approved a 71-measure plan aimed at tightening immigration controls, including future quotas for third-country nationals, restrictions on foreign students and changes affecting foreign workers and residence permits. One of the main measures is to establish…
Wholesale electricity prices fell sharply across the Baltic region in the second half of last week as wind generation recovered. Between 14 and 20 September, Lithuania’s average Nord Pool price declined by 16%, from €114/MWh to €96/MWh. Latvia…
Latvia has significantly eased access to its support programme for research-based startups, increasing public co-financing from 50% to 80% and widening eligibility to technologies that have reached TRL 8. The revised rules also allow Latvian branches of foreign…
Estonian transmission system operator Elering is preparing the electricity grid to connect around 1,500 MW of new generation capacity, while reinforcing connections around the country’s largest centres of electricity demand. The change is driven less by a large…
Beekeepers in both Latvia and Estonia are reporting a good honey season in 2026 after a much weaker harvest last year. In Latvia, the Beekeepers’ Association describes this year as successful and estimates that the country is capable…
Lithuania’s railway market is moving in two different directions: passenger traffic is growing while freight volumes continue to contract. Railways carried 3 million passengers in the first half of 2026, 11.2% more than a year earlier. Passenger transport…
Artificial intelligence has moved rapidly into mainstream use in Estonia: 65% of people and 34% of enterprises now use AI tools, according to new Statistics Estonia data. AI use increased 1.4 times among individuals and 1.5 times among…
airBaltic’s Chapter 11 filing and Ryanair’s new Baltic proposal turned aviation capacity into one of the week’s biggest regional questions. At the same time, diesel prices kept rising across all three Baltic capitals even as wholesale markets began…
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