Parliament speaker asks to increase NATO’s presence
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas of Lithuania, has asked to increase military presence of the Alliance in the region in response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, saying that Lithuania does not want to become “another Bucha or Mariupol”. “In particular, we ask that NATO’s Forward Presence Battle Groups be increased to the level of NATO’s Forward Brigades; that credible NATO air defence positions be established in the Baltic States; and that the prepositioning of NATO equipment and supplies in the Baltic States be reinforced,” she said in her welcoming remarks at a high-level meeting of speakers of NATO parliaments in Vilnius on Friday, the 2nd of June.
Lithuania elected to UNWTO Executive Council
Lithuania has been elected to the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation for a four-year term, the country’s Economy and Innovation Ministry said on Thursday, the 1st of June. A total of five countries were elected for the new term by secret ballot out of 11 candidates from the European region, and they also include the Czech Republic, Italy, Azerbaijan and Bulgaria. Lithuania was the only candidate from the Nordic-Baltic region and it will represent the eight countries of the Baltic Sea Region. The WTO has 160 members and 33 of them are elected to the Executive Council.
Seimas endorses plans to set up special agency for migrants
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on Thursday, the 1st of June, have its initial backing to amendments aimed at reforming the existing migrant reception and accommodation system, and they include plans to set up a special agency to deal with these issues. In all, 65 MPs voted in favour of the package initiated by the Interior Ministry, ten were against and 27 abstained. The bills will now go to Seimas committees for further consideration and will return to the main chamber during the fall session. The new agency will take over some of the functions currently carried out by the State Border Guard Service, including the transportation of migrants to their accommodation services, their accommodation, the provision of essentials, health checks and supervision, and the organization of the provision of legal and translation services. Moreover, the Law on State-guaranteed Legal Aid will be amended for state-guaranteed legal aid for foreigners to be organised by the Ministry of Social Security and Labour or an institution authorized by it, and not by the Migration Department whose decisions are subject to appeals as has been the case so far. Now, some 110 migrants are currently accommodated at State Border Guard Service units and over 40 live at asylum centers. The new agency is expected to start its activities on the 1st of July, 2024.
Lithuania won’t be harmed by Poland’s ban on Russian, Belarusian trucks
Poland’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian trucks from entering its territory as June 1 should not increase their flow in Lithuania, Antanas Šimelis, president of the country’s Logistics Association, said on Thursday, the 1st of June. For his part, Transport and Communications Minister Marius Skuodis says such a ban would be impossible in Lithuania because of the exemptions from the existing EU sanctions for Kaliningrad transit. Poland’s Interior Ministry says it aims to tighten sanction control. However, Polish press claims the move comes in response to the imprisonment of Andrzej Poczobut, a journalist of Polish descent, in Belarus. Šimelis believes a similar ban in Lithuania would not prevent the entry of Russian and Belarusian goods to Europe, if that would the aim of such restrictions.
Protest staged outside Russian Embassy in Vilnius
Up to 50 people protested outside the Russian Embassy in Vilnius on Thursday, the 1st of June, against the abduction of Ukrainian children by Kremlin forces. The protest was staged in Boris Nemtsov Square to mark the International Day for Protection of Children. Rally participants were draped in Ukrainian flags and held banners calling for an end to the war in Ukraine, the impeachment of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and for to the abduction of Ukrainian children to be stopped. Thousands of children have been illegally removed from Ukraine since Russia launched its large-scale war against Ukraine.
Lithuanian president congratulates Latvia’s president-elect
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Wednesday, the 31st of May, congratulated Edgars Rinkevičs, Latvia’s new president-elect, and highlighted strong ties between the two countries and their common values. “Lithuania and Latvia are close friends as we share a common history and experience, close cultural ties and warm friendship,” Nausėda was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidential press service. Nausėda also stressed his appreciation of Lithuania and Latvia’s common attitude towards regional security and defence.
Lithuania to reinstate checks on borders with Poland, Latvia for NATO summit
Lithuania will reinstate internal Schengen border controls during and several days before and after NATO’s summit in Vilnius. The controls will be in place from 8 a.m. on the 7th of July to 8 a.m. on the 13th of July, according to a draft government resolution registered by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday, the 31st of May. The temporary measure will apply in Lithuania’s border checkpoints with Latvia and Poland, and at its airports and seaports for travellers from other Schengen countries. The Interior Ministry’s proposal has yet to be approved by the Cabinet.
Telia Lithuania sets up center to combat cyber attacks
Telecoms company Telia Lietuva (Telia Lithuania) announced on Tuesday, the 30th of May, it is setting up a Center of Digital Progress to educate businesses and the public about and to protect them from digital crimes amid the recent increase in cyber-attacks against major Lithuanian companies and organisations. The new center will develop, organise and provide information and knowledge to people and businesses, the company said. A number of large Lithuanian companies, as well as some state institutions, came under DDoS attacks at the end of May, with some of the cyber-attacks coming from Russia.
Police question Irish woman
Lithuanian police on Tuesday, the 30th of May, questioned an Irish woman about alleged drug-related crimes and alleged violence committed during Rammstein’s pre- and post-concert private parties in Vilnius. Whether Rammstein members will be questioned will become clear after officers decide whether to open an investigation. The Vilnius County Chief Police Commissariat said earlier a report of a possible crime was received on the 23rd of May at around 1.36 p.m. The Irish woman claimed that someone had spiked her drink and tried to rape her during the Rammstein concert on the 22nd of May. The information was passed on to medics and police.
Lithuania insists that Minsk halt nuclear power plant
Lithuania’s State Nuclear Power Safety Inspectorate (VATESI) said on Monday, the 29th of May, that it has reiterated its call on Minsk to suspend the operation of Unit 1 at Belarus’ Astravyets nuclear power plant and the commissioning of Unit 2 until all safety issues are resolved. In its letter to Belarus’ Ministry of Emergency Situations, VATESI reminded the Belarusian regulator that it is still waiting for answers regarding to the plant’s safety issues it has raised. According to VATESI, the Astravyets plant has not yet implemented all the stress test recommendations or resolved safety issues regarding equipment resistance to seismic events and the effects of a large civil aircraft crash.
Social Democrats to back snap election proposal
Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, leader of the opposition Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), has said that her party will back the ruling Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats’ proposal to call an early general election. The conservatives have registered the draft resolution, saying that the political system has to be “reset” amid doubts about the transparency of the use of allowances for office expenses by some municipal politicians. Blinkevičiūtė told the LSDP Congress that the political crisis caused by the conservatives had to be resolved quickly and that the Social Democrats were ready to take responsibility if the current government failed to do so. According to public opinion polls, the LSDP is currently the most popular party in Lithuania. A Vilmorus poll published by Lietuvos Rytas on Saturday found that 18.1 percent of people would vote for it.
Week in Lithuania: Endorses plans to establish special agency for migrants; protest staged outside Russian Embassy
