Our Scans · Latvia · Weekly Summary

• [New] All five European Union and NATO countries which border Russia - Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Finland - have said they plan to exit the international treaty due to the military threat from their much larger neighbour. The Verardo Group's Substack
• Increased Energy Security - Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania no longer depend on Moscow for electricity, reducing the risk of political or economic pressure through energy supply disruptions. Economic Times
• The German deployment is aimed at deterring potential Russian aggression towards Lithuania and fellow Baltic countries Estonia and Latvia, former Soviet republics that have become NATO and EU members and fear they are increasingly in Moscow's crosshairs. Space War
• Several EU countries are expected to see their populations decline by more than 15% by 2050, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. Frontiers
• In the East, Latvia and Lithuania are expected to experience particularly severe overall population losses, while Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Greece, Poland and Croatia are projected to experience negative or near-zero net migration. Bruegel | The Brussels-based economic think tank
• Rail lines will later connect to the Czech Republic and to the Rail Baltica project, reaching Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. CMW
• The defence ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have expressed fears that Russia will not cease its aggressive posture, potentially threatening NATO's northeastern flank. BalkanEU
• Russia has no interest in expanding its borders into Poland, Latvia, or any other NATO member, despite constant speculation and media warnings fueling the narrative of an imminent Russian threat. Seemorerocks
• Brussels has supported the Baltic states' efforts with €1.23 billion ($1.28 billion) of investments in connections to Europe that will give Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia more options for a reliable power supply. DNyuz
• Any vehicle registered in a country other than the EU or European Economic Area (EEA) Member States or the Swiss Confederation will have to declare its use in Latvia before entering the territory of Latvia. LSM
• Multiple countries, including Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden and parts of Germany, have experienced GPS disruptions which are often traced back to Russian transmitters. Defense News
• Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania this weekend will sever their electricity ties with Russia with a view of merging their power systems with the Continental European and Nordic grids. Just Security
• Years before Russia started its full-scale war against Ukraine, the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, correctly assessing the Russian threat, implemented far-reaching reforms to end their energy dependence on Russia. Foreign Policy Research Institute
• The European Union needs to double its defence spending by €100 billion immediately, as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia warn that Russia is ramping up its military, and they push for joint borrowing, seizing Russian assets, and deeper cooperation with NATO. USGI
• Transitioning to electricity supplied from mainland EU will enhance the energy security of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Euromaidan Press
• Five EU Member States can opt for a six-year deferral of Pillar Two implementation, and all of them have done so, with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Malta deferring all rules until 2029, while Slovakia selectively implemented only a domestic top-up tax in 2024. Tax Foundation
• Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania saw their dependence on Russian energy as a potential risk, prompting them to accelerate plans to join the European power network. Economic Times
• The so-called Brell power grid - which stands for Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania - is controlled almost entirely by Moscow and has long been seen as a vulnerability for the former Soviet republics, which are now Nato members. BBC News
• The Baltic states have allocated hundreds of millions of euros to strengthen their defences to prepare for combined warfare tactics, and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have a major defence project underway that will begin in 2025. Ava press
• The threat to Europe from Russia is not limited to the immediate locale of Ukraine, but also stretches north to include the small Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, which effectively block Russia from its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. Army Technology
• The drone coalition, including the UK, Latvia, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden, will provide Ukraine with 30,000 drones over 2026. Futura Doctrina

Last updated: 13 June 2025