Latvia Requests opinion from the Venice Commission on the consequences of denouncing the Istanbul Convention

Minister of Justice Inese Lībiņa-Egnere (New Unity) has requested that the Venice Commission provide an accelerated opinion on Latvia’s potential withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, in order to independently assess the legal implications of...

Course in Lithuania teaches children how to build and fly drones

Published on 17/10/2025 - 9:55 GMT+2 Lithuanian children are learning how to build, programme and fly drones in a course offered in several schools across Lithuania. The initiative comes in an effort by the country to prepare society to counter...

Volunteer has a compulsion to clean up Latvia

Māris Strautnieks is a young man who works for the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD), but in his free time he has been cleaning up not only Līvbērze parish, where he lives, but also many other places in Latvia for five years. This year alone,...

Latvia includes two citizens of Georgia in the list of personae non gratae

Latvia has declared two Georgian citizens persona non grata, the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. By order of the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže, two Georgian citizens have been banned from entering Latvia for an...

Latvian Man Faces Charges for Threatening Ukrainian Family in Switzerland

A criminal investigation has been opened in Latvia against a man who threatened the family of a Ukrainian woman in Switzerland. He faces charges of incitement to ethnic hatred and related information about violence and threats. According to...

Hundreds Of Russians In Latvia Are Waiting For A Serious Inspection

8 Under the new requirements of the Immigration Act. In September, Latvian authorities notified 841 Russian citizens to leave the country because they had failed to apply for residence permit renewal in accordance with the new requirements of the...

Latvia overtakes Portugal for monthly income

According to Pordata, Portugal was surpassed by Latvia on the list, which is led by Luxembourg and Denmark, with the highest incomes, according to an analysis released by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation's statistical database on the...

Latvia to mark EU Anti-Trafficking Day

October 18th is 'Anti-Trafficking Day' in the European Union, and it will be noted in Latvia by the continuation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' information campaign under the slogans “Don’t Let Yourself Be Used” and “Working Abroad”. "Its aim...

Latvian Man Detained in Switzerland After Assaulting Ukrainian Family Over Language

Swiss police have detained a Latvian man after he attacked a Ukrainian-speaking family on a train from Interlaken to Spiez on Oct. 13, authorities and witnesses said. According to the family, the 42-year-old man, identified as Aleksandrs Vabiks,...

RANKED: Which countries in Europe are better at integrating immigrants?

Even as governments across Europe toughen immigration policies some states are better than others when it comes to integrating new arrivals, according to a new study. Despite toughening immigration rules, Sweden is the country in the EU with the...

Latvian Saeima passes an 'alternative' to Istanbul Convention

28 Members did not take part in the vote. Opponents of the declaration pointed out in the debate that the declaration had no political force and was just empty words. The declaration was drafted by MPs who want Latvia to withdraw from the Council...

Latvian Radio surveys China's interest in Latvia

Latvia's security services say they have been closely monitoring China's activities in the country for the past decade and have repeatedly mentioned it as a potential source of security risk. China supports Russia in the war against Ukraine, and...

Latvia’s Saeima to begin reviewing next year’s budget with 18 billion euros in spending and a sizable deficit

Members of Parliament today referred next year’s state budget bill and its accompanying package of draft laws to Saeima committees for review. The 2026 state budget’s accompanying package includes nearly 50 draft laws, among them changes to...

Latvian Saeima starts viewing 2026 budget

The Saeima has started work on next year's national budget. On Thursday, 16 October, MPs handed over to the Saeima committees the draft budget for next year and the accompanying package of nearly 50 draft laws. Without lengthy debates and sharp...

Wilderness Travel introduces new 2026 European adventure portfolio across 10 countries

Wilderness Travel has launched a new portfolio of small-group adventure itineraries for 2026, featuring hiking, cultural and nature-focused journeys across southern, central and northern Europe. Wilderness Travel has announced a new collection of...

Latvia Scales Back Support Measures for Ukrainian Refugees

(MENAFN) The Latvian government has officially sanctioned modifications to its legislation concerning assistance to Ukrainian refugees, cutting the support budget by more than one-third and significantly reducing several existing benefits. Latvia,...

Bank of Latvia warns: If the government does not optimize spending, taxes will have to rise

To reduce state budget expenditures in the future, reforms must already be planned now — reforms aimed at optimizing public infrastructure networks, transferring certain state functions to the private sector, and analyzing the cost efficiency of...

UNESCO Spotlights Latvia's Innovative Approach To Cultural Education

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 17. Latvia's national cultural education initiative,“Latvijas skolas soma” (Latvia's School Bag), has been highlighted by UNESCO as one of the world's best practices in promoting accessibility,...

Strong demand for rentals in Rīga commuter belt

Mareks Kļaviņš, Chairman of the Board of the real estate developer Bonava Latvija, pointed out that the total investment volume of the "Dreilinga mājas" project exceeded 59 million euros and assessed that for home buyers, who are mainly young...

Latvia’s 2026 state budget: how the Government allocated funds between security, families, and education

On Tuesday, the government approved the 2026 state budget, under which consolidated general government revenues are planned at 16.064 billion euros, while expenditures will total17.945 billion euros. Compared to the 2025 budget, revenues in 2026...