PM Kulbergs' social media posts called into question over grain transit and money printing claims
Latvia's Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs faced scrutiny after Saeima lawmakers and the Bank of Latvia disputed the accuracy of two of his recent social media statements — one on a Baltic-wide stance on Russian grain transit, another on euro banknote printing.
Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs (AS) regularly uses social media to inform the public about the government's work and his own political initiatives. In recent days, however, at least two of his posts have drawn scrutiny over their accuracy.
Doubts over a joint Baltic position
On September 16, Kulbergs announced on social media that a joint position with the prime ministers of Estonia and Lithuania had been reached on introducing unified restrictions on Russian grain transit. Just days earlier, he had written only that he was in contact with his Baltic counterparts to try to reach such an agreement.
At a Saeima Budget and Finance Committee meeting, former prime minister and current MP Evika Siliņa (New Unity) demanded documentary proof of this "joint position," asking whether it had been signed by all three Baltic prime ministers. Committee officials said the requested information could not be provided that day.
Bank of Latvia corrects the PM
The second case involved a September 16 post by Kulbergs on the platform X, in which he claimed the Bank of Latvia has not printed money since the country joined the eurozone in 2014. The following day, the Bank of Latvia publicly stated the claim was inaccurate, explaining that it both issues euro banknotes and coins and participates in their printing, a task eurozone countries carry out jointly and in coordination, sharing the costs.
Information from the European Central Bank supports the Bank of Latvia's explanation. Euro banknote production is a shared Eurosystem process, with the ECB allocating production volumes among national central banks. ECB data show Latvia is among the central banks assigned a share of production — in 2026, for instance, Latvia is responsible for part of the production of 100-euro banknotes.
Both cases raise broader questions about the accuracy of the prime minister's public statements on social media, and where simplified political messaging ends and factual inaccuracy begins.
