Latvia today: Kulbergs to name coalition partners, MP warned over Russian video, Montenegro v Latvia

Top stories

Andris Kulbergs of the United List, who is leading talks on a new government, said on Wednesday that the parties forming it could be named this week and candidates for ministers next week. Asked on TV3 whether New Unity and the Progressives would be in the government, he gave no direct answer, and he denied having a deal with Latvia First. Full story

The Saeima’s mandates, ethics and submissions committee decided on Wednesday to issue a written warning to Andrejs Pagors, an MP for Sovereign Power/Young Latvians Union, for a TikTok video in which he described the agenda of parliament’s first sitting in Russian from the chamber. The complaint came from the Saeima Presidium; Pagors told the committee he disagreed with it. The warning will be announced at a sitting of parliament. Full story

Several drones crossed or approached Latvia overnight into Wednesday, the National Armed Forces said. One, approaching from Lithuania, flew over Jēkabpils, Madona, Cēsis, Gulbene and Smiltene municipalities escorted by fighter jets from NATO’s air policing mission and left Latvian airspace near Ape, heading into Estonia; warnings were lifted at about 03:30. Full story

Mārtiņš Kazāks, governor of the Bank of Latvia, said the number of people working in the public sector must be reduced and workers helped to move to private firms, with a bigger role for the State Employment Agency. According to the Central Statistical Bureau, public sector jobs rose by 4,400 over the year to 292,100 in the second quarter. Full story

The European Commission proposed the Digital Fairness Act on Wednesday, which would ban manipulative online sales tactics such as fake “only one left” claims and pre-ticked boxes, require the full price to be shown up front and let consumers cancel subscriptions in one simple step. The rules would apply directly in every member state, including Latvia. Full story

In 2026, 58.2% of internet users in Latvia used generative AI tools, up 23.1 percentage points in a year, according to the Central Statistical Bureau (CSP). Among companies with at least 10 employees the figure is 18.5%. Full story

INDEXO, which owns 72% of the non-bank lender DelfinGroup, has asked Latvijas Banka, the central bank, for permission to make a voluntary offer of €1.90 per share, raising its stake to 89.99%. Its aim is to delist DelfinGroup from the Nasdaq Riga stock exchange. Full story

Useful today

• Weather: cloudy, with rain in places in the east in the morning; in the evening a band of rain, sleet and, locally, snow moves in from the south-west. Highs of +2C to +7C, with gusts of up to 15 m/s on the coast. Riga: cloudy, with rain and sleet in the evening and highs of +2C to +4C. Tonight some roads will be slippery and coastal gusts may reach 20 m/s, according to LVĢMC, the state weather service.
• Winter tyres become mandatory on 1 December. Rules and fines
• The next public holiday is Proclamation Day on Wednesday 18 November; work ends an hour earlier on Tuesday 17 November. Parade, fireworks and what is open
• Name days: Kaija and Kornēlija.
• Ten Latvian films are free to stream on filmas.lv anywhere in the world until 19 November, with no registration. The list

Sport

Latvia’s footballers visit Nations League group leaders Montenegro in Podgorica at 21:45 Riga time, then host Armenia at the Skonto Stadium on Sunday at 16:00. Preview

Latvia’s women opened their floorball World Championship qualifier in Riga with a 7-1 win over Great Britain and play France at 19:00 Riga time. Full story The men’s lacrosse team, who beat Turkey 24-9 at the sixes European Championship, face the hosts, Spain, at 11:00. Full story

The International Luge Federation (FIL) decides at an extraordinary congress today on a possible return of Russian athletes. Full story