A Lithuanian oak was named the 2026 European Tree of the Year on Tuesday, putting an end to four years of Polish domination in the Eurovision-like contest. The Oak of Laukai , a 400-year-old specimen standing proud in the rural community of Rukai, was crowned at a ceremony in Brussels’ European Parliament, defeating a wild apple tree overlooking a Slovak village and a crooked elm leaning over the moat of a Polish castle. “This is truly an exceptional, historic moment for Lithuania … At one