Last week, opposition called on Seimas speaker to quit over her party’s corruption conviction, MPs approved pay raise for prosecutors
Seimas bans professional troops from traveling to unfriendly countries
Lithuanian lawmakers on Thursday, the 14th of December, banned the country’s professional troops from traveling to countries posing a threat to Lithuania’s national security for non-service purposes after 78 MPs voted in favour, there were no votes against and abstentions. Such legal changes had been initiated by the Defence Ministry. The bill stipulates that the government will approve a list of countries or territories troops would be banned from traveling to. In early December, the Defence Ministry published an initial list of such countries and it includes Russia and its occupied Crimea, Belarus, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, including the Transnistrian region, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Abkhazian and South Ossetian regions of Georgia.
Residence permit issuance suspended for 2000 Belarusians
The issuance of temporary residence permits to some 2000 Belarusians has been suspended in Lithuania which is causing concern for everyone here, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Thursday, the 14th of December. She and other Belarusian opposition representatives have called on Lithuanian politicians not to introduce new restrictions and not to build an Iron Curtain between the two countries. She said her office could help the Lithuanian special services to check Belarusians applying for residence permits in Lithuania because it has its own database. The constant threat of expulsion or loss of residence permits demoralizes Belarusians, she said. Now based in Poland, Vital Rymasheuski, a co-chairman of the Belarusian Christian Democracy, rejected claims that Belarusians pose a threat to Lithuania’s national security.
President opines about Hungary’s veto on Ukraine
EU leaders, including Lithuanian president Gitanas Nausėda, started two days of intensive talks on support for Ukraine in Brussels on Thursday, the 14th of December, with a 50-billion-euro financial package and the opening of accession negotiations with Kyiv on the table. “We have a historical chance to take a very bold decision regarding the start of negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova,” President Gitanas Nausėda told reporters. Both measures require the unanimous approval of all 27 member states but have so far been opposed by Hungary. EU leaders are also expected to decide on the opening of accession negotiations with Moldova, a move that is not opposed in principle by any member state. Orban said that the EU’s enlargement is a “merit-based, legally detailed process” and that Ukraine has failed to meet at least three of the seven conditions set by the Commission when Kyiv was granted candidate status.
Lithuania signs 200-million-euro contract to buy new NASAMS ADS
The Lithuanian Defence Minister signed on Thursday, the 14th of December, a 200-million-euro contract to purchase a new NASAMS system from its Norwegian manufacturer. This marks the start of the second phase of procurement of the medium-range air defence system, the ministry said. According to the ministry, the package covers system components, a package of spare parts and tools, training of operators and technical staff, and integration of the existing and newly-purchased systems. Part of the NASAMS equipment acquired in the second phase is expected to be delivered to Lithuania in 2026. The Defence Ministry launched the first NASAMS procurement phase in 2016. The system reached Lithuania in 2020 and was successfully integrated into its Armed Forces in 2022 after the completion of personnel training.
President signs 2024 state budget
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Wednesday, the 13th of December, signed the law on the state budget for 2024, the presidential press service said. The president also signed amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax to promote modern investments. Nausėda also welcomes the fact that budget deficit will stay below the Maastricht criterion of 3% of GDP and government debt will stand at 39.9%. More than two billion euros, or 2.75% of GDP, has been earmarked for defence next year. The budget envisages a 10% increase in the minimum wage – from 840 to 924 euros and a 20% increase in the non-taxable income rate that will go up from 625 to 747 euros, meaning that an additional 75 euro increase in income for the lowest earners. Moreover, pensions will rise next year, bringing the country closer to the 50% ratio of the average pension and the average wage.
Seimas speaker rejects calls to quit over her party’s corruption conviction
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, the leader of the Lithuanian Liberal Movement, one of the two political parties convicted in a high-profile political corruption case, said on Tuesday, the 12th of December, that she has no intention of stepping down as speaker of the parliament. Yet she said that she considers the call to disassociate herself from the party not only as personal pressure, but also as an accusation against the entire Liberal Movement community, “trying to impose collective guilt for one person’s actions committed more than seven years ago”. In November, the Court of Appeal found the Liberal Movement guilty of bribery, influence peddling and abuse, among other things, as corrupt actions by Eligijus Masiulis, Šarūnas Gustainis and Gintaras Steponavičius, Liberal politicians who held significant positions in 2015 and 2016, were conducted, for the party’s benefit. The Liberal Movement was fined 376 600 euros in the case.
Lithuanian MPs approves pay raise for prosecutors
The Seimas of Lithuania on Tuesday, the 12th of December, approved plans to raise pay for prosecutors twice, from 2024 and again from January 2025, after 107 votes in favour, six were against and 13 abstained. From the 1st of January, 2024, prosecutors’ salaries will be increased to amount to least 75% of the salary of a judge of the appropriate level, and will further increase from the 1st of January, 2025 to at least 90%. The pay increase will need over 10 million euros next year, instead of the 8.6 million euros initially proposed by the government. In 2025, prosecutors’ salaries will need an additional 17 million euros. Prosecutors had asked for a pay rise, arguing that their salaries are disproportionately lower compared to those of judges who have already received a pay rise since July.
Seimas launches impeachment against MP Gapsys
The Lithuanian parliament Seimas on Tuesday, the 12th of December, launched impeachment proceedings against Vytautas Gapšys, a Labor Party MP who is currently serving time for a political corruption conviction. The motion was passed with 95 votes in favour, one against and three abstentions. The parliament set the 21st of December as the date for the impeachment vote. Since Gapšys’ conviction is final, his impeachment would proceed through a simplified procedure, without referral to the Constitutional Court. At least 85 votes in the 141-member parliament are needed to strip the MP of his mandate. Gapšys last month was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment by the Lithuanian Court of Appeal for corruption offences and is currently serving time in a Kaunas prison. The court found that Raimondas Kurlianskis, a former MG Baltic vice-president, had asked Gapšys to use his position as an MP and his influence on his fellow Labor Party members to influence other public officials. In exchange, Gapšys received bribes disguised as an additional 12 100 euro discount for the Labor Party’s political advertising and a 15 000 donation to Meno ir Sporto Projektai (Art and Sport Projects), a limited liability public legal entity, according to the court’s press release. The MP filed a cassation appeal with the Supreme Court of Lithuania, requesting to suspend the execution of his sentence, but the court did not grant his request.
Lithuania’s quota for foreign workers at 40,300 in 2024
Social Security and Labor Minister Monika Navickienė said on Monday, the 11th of December, that next year’s quota for facilitated hiring of third-country workers on the list of professions in short supply in Lithuania has been set at 40 250, which is 4 300 more than at the start of this year. It includes 25 100 workers in haulage and other service companies, 9 800 in construction, 5 050 in industry, and 300 in agriculture. The ministry raised this year’s quota by 4 300 on the 28th of November after the earlier approved quota for hiring truck drivers from third countries ran out. Once the quota is exhausted, employers can still hire foreign nationals whose professions are on the list, but they have to apply to the Employment Service for a work permit costing more than 100 euros or a decision on work compliance. Haulers say that quota limits cause millions of euros in losses for businesses every year.
Follow us on Facebook and X!
Week in Lithuania | residence permit issuance suspended for Belarusians; President signs 2024 state budget
