Linas Jegelevičius
This week, Lithuania signed another cooperation agreement with Taiwan, while high-level British and Lithuanian diplomats met in London, and Vilnius airport is looking for ways to maintain flights to London.
Nausėda has high expectations for NATO’s Vilnius summit
Ukraine should be offered more concrete steps toward membership at NATO’s summit in Vilnius in July, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Friday, the 24th of February. Petro Beshta, Ukraine’s ambassador to Lithuania, has said that he expects a very clear statement at the Vilnius summit that Ukraine will become a NATO member as soon as the war is over. According to Nausėda, more concrete steps would not mean that Ukraine would become a NATO member in the middle of the war, but it would give the country a membership perspective.
Lithuania reports 295 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
Lithuania recorded 295 new coronavirus infections and two deaths from COVID-19 over Thursday, the 23rd of February. Of the new cases, 186 were primary, 101 were secondary and eight were tertiary. The 14-day primary infection rate has edged down to 143.5 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 22.7 percent. The daily number of new coronavirus cases remains well below the peak of over 14,000 reached in early February 2022. More than 1,17 million people in Lithuania have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once.
Customs probes sanctions dodging, fertilizer smuggling
The Lithuanian Customs announced on Thursday, the 23rd of February, it is conducting a pre-trial investigation into possible sanctions dodging and smuggling of Belarusian fertilizers, 15 wagons with some 750 tons of urea, into the country. Urea with traces leading to its only producer in Belarus, Grodno Azot in Grodno, reportedly continues to be transported by rail to BKT, which is partly owned by Belarusian state-owned company Belaruskali. Just like Grodno Azot, it’s subject to the existing EU sanctions. Last week, both LTG (Lithuanian Railways) and the Ministry of Transport and Communications turned to the prosecution service to investigate the origin of the urea found within BKT’s territory.
Lithuania seeks NATO helicopters, HIMARS system deployment
Lithuania is seeking that NATO deploys combat helicopters and HIMARS systems in the region, President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters in Warsaw on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, after the meeting of the Bucharest Nine group of NATO’s eastern flank countries with US President Joe Biden and the Alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Nausėda said it would be difficult for Lithuania to acquire the equipment on its own, but it could be deployed in the Baltic states on a rotational basis. The Lithuanian leader said he also raised the issues of implementing the agreements of NATO’s Madrid summit, boosting defense spending, and closer ties between Ukraine and the Alliance.
LTG must speed up decoupling from Russian systems
Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG) must accelerate plans to replace its Russian KLUB-U locomotive safety system with a Western one, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, speaker of the parliament, said on Wednesday, the 22nd of February. Reportedly, LTG is planning to decouple the system by 2026-2027. LTG had launched a public procurement procedure, worth 2,2 million euros, to purchase services to maintain the KLUB-U system. The state-owned railway operator admitted that the KLUB-U system is still in use in up to 300 locomotives and self-propelled trains, but only temporarily.
Uber’s IT unit in Vilnius to be shut down
Uber Lithuania Software and Development, an IT company that started operations in Lithuania in 2014, is being wound up. The company informed the Centre of Registers on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, about the decision taken by Uber Technologies, its sole shareholder, to initiate the liquidation procedure and of the appointment of a liquidator. The company announced last September that it was closing its office. In January, it informed the Employment Service of group layoffs due to closure and liquidation. According to data from the state social insurance fund Sodra, the company still employs 49 people.
Lithuania to launch offshore wind farm developer tender
Ahead of Lithuania’s preparations to invite bids from potential developers of a 700 MW offshore wind farm without state support, the Energy Ministry has drafted government resolutions on the project’s location in the Baltic Sea and the requirements for bidders. Once the Cabinet adopts the resolutions, the National Energy Regulatory Council (VERT) is likely to launch the tender process on the 30th of March, the ministry said on Wednesday, the 22nd of February.
Lithuanian and UK diplomats discuss response to Russia’s war in Ukraine
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis met with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in London on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, to discuss further response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. Since the start of the war, Lithuania has provided 283 million euros in military aid to Ukraine. Landsbergis and Cleverly also discussed Russia’s responsibility for international crimes, the strengthening of NATO’s eastern flank, and preparations for the Alliance’s summit in Vilnius.
Lithuania, Taiwan sign cooperation agreements
Deputy economy ministers of Taiwan and Lithuania signed a memorandum of understanding on laser technology cooperation, under which the two sides will jointly set up an R&D and innovation center in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan reported on Tuesday, the 21st of February. The memorandum of understanding on laser technology cooperation was on the 20th of February signed by Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi C.C. Chen and Lithuanian Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation Karolis Žemaitis.
Flights from Vilnius to London City are to be extended until October
Flights from Vilnius to London City Airport, important for the business sector, will be extended for another five months, Lithuania’s Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė said on Tuesday, the 21st of February. The Ministries of the Economy and Innovation and Transport and Communications, Lietuvos Oro Uostai (Lithuanian Airports, LOU), the airport operator in Lithuania, and LOT are currently negotiating the contract’s extension from the 1st of May to the 30th of September, Inga Simanonytė, an advisor to the economy minister, said, refraining to provide more details. Transport and Communications Minister Marius Skuodis said earlier that the London City Airport destination was is a priority, adding, however, that Lithuania would not be able to continue funding it after the UK left the EU.
Wagner may try to test West’s response by attacking Baltics
Russia’s mercenary group Wagner may try to test Western defense mechanisms by attacking the Baltic states, Kęstutis Budrys, President Gitanas Nausėda’s chief national security advisor, said on Monday, the 20th of February. The advisor said so when asked if Russia could carry out a provocation in the Baltic countries using Wagner-type groups. The Russian mercenary group has been involved in the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. Wagner is increasingly present in francophone Africa, with Western countries saying the group has deployed its mercenaries in Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, and Mali.
Week in Lithuania: Customs probes sanctions dodging; offshore wind farm developer tender on the way
