Baltic states to open their internal borders on May 15

Domestic restrictions to ease gradually

Residents of the three Baltic countries will able to freely travel between Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia from May 15, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš announced May 5 after a video conference with Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas and Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis.

The three prime ministers agreed to lift the border closings to most private travel that were imposed under the covid-19 emergencies declared in the middle of March by all three countries. Latvia’s state of emergency expires on May 12, but it is expected that the government will keep many restrictions on public gatherings, business and public institution openings in place for at least some time after that date.

Prime Ministers Krišjānis Kariņs of Latvia, Juri Ratas of Estonia and Saulius Skvernelis of Lithuania side-by side in “better times” (photo: Lithuanian Government website)

In a statement on behalf of the three heads of government issued in the Latvian capital Riga, Karins said that persons arriving from outside the three Baltic countries would still be subject to 14 days self-isolation. Except for a few so-called repatriation flights bringing Baltic citizens and permanent residents back from abroad, commercial airline, bus and passenger train traffic from outside the three Baltic countries has practically stopped since the second half of March,