Linas Jegelevičius
This week in Lithuania, the government experienced various events – the parliament managed to vote on the cancellation of the president’s veto on sanctions against Russians and Belarusians, while the deputy finance minister left his post.
Zelensky will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted his invitation to attend the NATO summit in Vilnius in July and will participate in it, Stoltenberg told reporters at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday, the 21st of April. Lithuania wants Ukraine to be invited to join NATO at the Vilnius Summit.
Agriculture minister survives the second interpellation in parliament
Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Kęstutis Navickas survived a second interpellation in the parliament on Thursday, the 20th of April. In all, 65 MPs voted in favour of accepting Navickas’ answers to the opposition-initiated questions, 58 voted against, and one abstained. The opposition initiated the interpellation for Navickas because of the extremely poor situation in the dairy sector. The Lithuanian Milk Producers’ Association held a protest outside the parliament building in Vilnius last month. Farmers demanded at least 40 million euros in aid to stabilize the crisis situation in the dairy sector, and Navickas’ resignation. The first opposition-initiated interpellation procedure against the minister over the situation in the agricultural sector failed last June.
Seimas rejects presidential veto on sanctions for Russians, Belarusians
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, overrode on Thursday, the 20th of April, President Gitanas Nausėda’s veto and gave its final approval for imposing different sanctions on Russian and Belarusian citizens over the war in Ukraine. Ninety-nine MPs voted in favour of adopting the law without the president’s proposed amendments, seven voted against the motion and two abstained. The final Law on Restrictive Measures in Response to Military Aggression against Ukraine restricts the issuance of Lithuanian visas and e-resident status to Russian and Belarusian citizens, and bans them from bringing Ukrainian hryvnias into Lithuania. The restrictions will be in place from the 2nd of May 2023 until the 3rd of AMy, 2024. Russian citizens will face additional difficulties in entering Lithuania and acquiring real estate, and the acceptance of their applications for residence permits in Lithuania will be temporarily suspended.
Bill on solidarity levy for banks passes first reading
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on Thursday, the 20th of April, agreed to debate a bill to introduce a solidarity levy on banks for two years. The draft Law on Temporary Solidarity Contribution passed the first reading in the Seimas with 107 votes in favour, six against and 14 abstentions. The parliament will continue debating the bill under a fast-track procedure next week. Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė said banks’ profits could reach over 1 billion euros in 2003-2024. Lithuania plans to raise around 410 million euros from the banking levy and spend the money on military mobility and dual-use – civilian and military – transport infrastructure as well as military infrastructure projects.
Technical glitch halts parliament’s work
A malfunction of the IT system of the Seimas Plenary Chamber on Thursday, the 20th of April, forced the Lithuanian parliament to adjourn its sitting until the afternoon. The system failure prevented parliamentarians from registering for the morning sitting, etc. After the IT system could not be fixed within an hour, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, speaker of the parliament, suggested convening later in the afternoon.
Lithuanian Finance vice-minister resigns
Lithuanian Deputy Finance Minister Gediminas Norkūnas announced on Thursday, the 20th of April, he is resigning and leaving office on the 28th of April, the Finance Ministry said. He made the decision after the country’s Chief Official Ethics Commission ruled that Norkūnas, who holds shares in Ignitis Grupė, placed himself in a conflict of interest when taking decisions on the state-controlled energy group’s activities and that he failed to declare his interests properly. The vice-minister said in the statement on Wednesday, the 19th of April, that he disagrees with the commission’s interpretation of the law, adding that he has never been involved in the preparation, discussion and adoption of decisions related to Ignitis Grupė’s profits and dividends.
Lithuania hands in note to Belarus over border violations
Lithuania on Wednesday, the 19th of April, handed in a note to Belarus, expressing its strong protest over deliberate and systematic violations of the Lithuanian state border, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said. The note was handed to a representative of the Belarusian Embassy in Lithuania after they were summoned to the ministry. Lithuanian border guards have recorded two cases of Belarusian officers entering Lithuanian territory over the past week. One of them took place in Švenčionys District, and the other one was recorded in Šalčininkai District. In the note, the Foreign Ministry demands that Belarus provides an explanation for both incidents as soon as possible and takes measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
EC tells Lithuania to regulate work of third-country seasonal workers
The European Commission on Wednesday, the 19th of April, urged Lithuania to swiftly transpose all provisions of the directive on third-country seasonal workers into national law and has launched an infringement procedure over this issue, the European Commission Representation in Lithuania said. The EC has sent letters of formal notice to Lithuanian and nine more countries. Adopted in 2014, the Seasonal Workers Directive sets the conditions of entry and stay of non-EU nationals for the purpose of employment as seasonal workers.
NGOs call on Lithuania not to adopt law legalising turning away of irregular migrants
Non-governmental organisations have called on the Seimas of Lithuania not to adopt a law legalizing the turning away of illegal migrants. Over 300 organizations and individuals say that turning away migrants during extreme situations will not only violate international law but will also put Lithuania alongside countries like Hungary. They say the amendments provide for an institution of civilian supporters of border guards, which is a copy of the Hungarian model. The appeal was initiated by the Global Lithuanian Leaders (GLL) migration group, Sienos Grupė, a humanitarian aid organisation, and the Lithuanian Human Rights Centre. Lina Vosyliūtė, a member of GLL group, said on Tuesday, April 18, that the amendments, which have reached the deliberation stage in the Seimas, are not only immoral, but will have long-term consequences for Lithuania’s international image. Amnesty International said on Monday, the 17th of April, that Lithuania’s move to legalise the turning away of irregular migrants at the border would constitute green-light torture.
SpaceX launches 2 satellites made by NanoAvionics in Lithuania
SpaceX launched two satellites manufactured by Kongsberg NanoAvionics (NanoAvionics) in Lithuania into space as part of its Transporter 7 mission. The satellites were launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and propelled to an altitude of 500 kilometres, NanoAvionics said in a press release on Monday, the 17th of April.
Week in Lithuania: Parliament overrides veto on sanctions; technical glitch stops the work of Seimas
