Swedbank Lithuania has suspended transfers to 61 high-risk countries this week, while the Defense Ministry has encouraged reforms of compulsory service.
Lithuania reports 21 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths
Lithuania recorded 21 new coronavirus infections and no deaths from COVID-19 over Thursday, the 10th of August, the country’s public health authority NVSC announced on Friday, the 10th of August. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals now stands at fifteen. The 14-day primary infection rate has edged up to 10.4 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 8.9 percent. Some 68.5 percent of people in the country have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far, according to the statistics.
Three pilots set out on an engineless glider flight across Europe
Three Lithuanian aviators on Friday, the 11th of August, set out on a record-breaking engineless glider flight from Lithuania across Europe to Portugal. Algirdas Šimoliūnas, Sakalas Uždavinys, and Ignas Bitinaitis aim to fly about 400 kilometres in one take-off per day at an average glider speed of 90-130 km/h and cover a total distance of 4,000 kilometres to the Atlantic Ocean in 10 days. The three pilots will be supported by a ground team travelling by road in three vehicles. The glider flight marks the 90th anniversary of the transatlantic flight of Lithuanian aviators Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas.
Lithuania’s Swedbank ceases transfers to 61 high-risk countries
Lithuania’s Swedbank says it will no longer make transfers to 61 high-risk countries as of September, saying that the goal is to reduce the risk of transfers to foreign countries. The countries will include Afghanistan, Aruba, Guinea-Bissau, Brunei, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, the Virgin Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, Fiji, the Gambia, Guinea, Haiti, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Mauritania, Myanmar, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Somalia, North Korea, Vanuatu, Venezuela, and others. The Bank said shows that very few customers made international transfers to these countries last year.
Lithuania may join the G7 declaration on military assistance to Ukraine
Along with Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania mulls joining the G7 declaration on the provision of military assistance to Ukraine, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė told the Žinių Radijas news radio on Thursday, the 10th of August. Her comment followed the Latvian prime minister’s announcement on the 9th of August that his country was joining the G7 declaration. At last month’s NATO summit in Vilnius, the G7 countries pledged long-term military support to Ukraine to help it fight the invading Russian forces and stop any recurrence of war.
PM in favour of tighter restrictions for Belarusians
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė would be in favour of putting restrictions for Belarusian citizens on a par with the existing ones for Russians. “I think there are a lot of grounds for this now,” the prime minister told the Žinių Radijas news radio on Thursday, the 10th of Augus. The Seimas of Lithuania adopted a law on restrictive measures for Russian and Belarusian citizens earlier this year, but it introduced fewer restrictions for the latter. The PM says the situation has changed in the meantime. The prime minister stressed though that humanitarian exemptions for opponents of the regime and opposition activists should remain in place.
Lithuania hands protest note to Russia
Lithuania has expressed its “strong protest” to Russia over restricted access to the Jurgis Baltrusaitis House in Moscow, the Lithuanian diplomatic mission’s cultural centre in the Russian capital, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, the 9th of August. The note of strong protest over the Russian authorities’ actions was handed to a diplomat from Moscow’s embassy in Vilnius, who was summoned to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, the 9th of August, it said in a press release. The Jurgis Baltrusaitis House used to host cultural events attended by Lithuanians living in Moscow and Russian intellectuals.
Some 230,000 Lithuanians went to Belarus in first half-year
Roughly 230,000 Lithuanians travelled to Belarus in the first half of this year and there were attempts to recruit some of them, Rustamas Liubajevas, the commander of the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS), said on Wednesday, the 9th of August. For his part, Foreign Vice Minister Mantas Adomėnas urged Lithuanians not to travel to Belarus, as the country is helping Russia with the war in Ukraine by giving territory to Wagner mercenaries. On Wednesday, the 9th of August, the State Security Department also warned of the dangers, stating posting on Facebook that Belarusian intelligence services are checking travellers’ computers, phones, social media accounts, using blackmail and psychological pressure to encourage them to cooperate with Belarusian intelligence.
Competition watchdog probes lrytas.lt acquisition
Lithuania’s Competition Council has launched an investigation into the agreement of Ekspress Grupp, an Estonian media group that owns the delfi.lt news websites in the Baltic states, and Lietuvos Rytas, a Lithuanian company, on the acquisition of the lrytas.lt news website in Lithuania. The competition watchdog will look into whether the transaction was in line the law that requires the parties to notify about planned concentration and receive authorization from the Competition Council, if the revenues of the businesses involved in the transaction exceed the legal thresholds. The procedure has been started on the basis of the complaint of UAB 15min, Ekspress Grupp said via the Tallinn Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the 9th of Augus.
Defence ministry proposes conscription reform
Lithuania’s Defence Ministry has proposed a conscription reform that will include the reduction of the existing 9-month service time to six months for some conscripts, according to the bill registered by the ministry on Tuesday, the 8th of August. Under the bill, the nine-month service could be shortened, but no more than by three months, and the conditions and procedure for a shorter service time will be determined by the commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Under the plan, 50 to 65 percent of conscripts will do the nine-month service and 35 to 50 percent will do six months. The amendments also foresee that higher education students will be required to perform the service. According to the Defence Ministry, there’s currently a shortage of around 2,000 specialists to fill the wartime structure.
Public sector receives 38 million euro in EU funding for electric cars
Lithuania’s Environmental Project Management Agency has allocated 38 million euros in EU funding for the purchase of electric or hydrogen-powered cars for public sector institutions and bodies. Applications are accepted from Tuesday, the 8th of August, the EPMA said. A payment of 5,000 euros will be granted for each new M1- or N1-class electric or hydrogen-powered car, and 2,500 euros will be paid for a second-hand car up to four years of age.
There is currently no possibility to pay compensation for vehicles purchased through leasing, but it will be considered, Gvidas Žvironas, director of the EPMA, said in a statement. Data from Regitra, Lithuania’s state-owned vehicle registration service, show that a total of 9,500 pure M1- and N1-class electric vehicles had been registered in Lithuania by the 1st of July, and 2,200 pure EVs were registered in June alone compared to 2,500 in 2021.
Interior Ministry drafts amendments on migrant detention
The Interior Ministry has drafted amendments on the detention of migrants, which, among other changes, provide for an individual assessment of whether their right to free movement should not be restricted, the ministry announced on Monday, the 7th of August. Under the new amendments, when a person applies for asylum at a border post, an assessment will be made as to whether there are any individual circumstances related to the asylum seeker’s age, state of health, family situation, or other individual circumstances that should not restrict the asylum seeker’s right to free movement in Lithuania. The amendments also provide that in cases where the above-mentioned circumstances are not established, an asylum seeker who has applied for asylum at a border control point, in a transit zone or shortly after illegally crossing Lithuania’s border would be temporarily accommodated in designated places without the right to free movement. The amendments shorten the maximum duration of the border procedure from six to five months, in line with the EU’s legislative proposals. The bill also establishes a procedure for appealing against an accommodation decision and such a decision could be appealed with a district court within 14 days.
Week in Lithuania: pilots set out on 4000-km glider flight; watchdog probes news website acquisition
