Baltic States in February 2026: the most important developments in economy
In February 2026 the Baltic states' economic news was led by the Rail Baltica railway. A ministry official said Latvia is a couple of years behind Estonia on the project, and on 25 February a minister announced an agreement with Latvia that the line will be built by 2030.
Energy and winter conditions ran through the month. Ice roads opened between the Estonian islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa and on Lake Peipus, and sea ice left a Saaremaa boatbuilder's new vessels stuck in harbour. Tallinn's trams moved to a free timetable during freezing rain. Estonia's Auvere power plant went offline again after a technical fault, and one commentator said soaring electricity bills reflect a regional power shortage. An expert argued Estonia should keep oil shale power production until a new nuclear plant is running. The Klaipėda terminal in Lithuania received an American shipment of liquefied natural gas intended for Ukraine.
Lithuania's manufacturing sector saw high-tech growth led by Teltonika, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Orlen Lietuva, and Lithuania planned a 1 billion euro defence boost through a single defence finance hub. Taiwanese investment in Lithuania is growing but remains modest. Elsewhere, Estonia's largest cheesemaker filed for bankruptcy, IKEA's turnover in Estonia grew to 97 million euros, and Riga pledged 100,000 euros to support Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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