Last week, Panevėžys district dwellers protested Rail Baltica node; SD leader hit out at ruling bloc for delaying defence funding decisions
Government hands over premises to Orthodox Christian community
The Lithuanian government on Friday, the 3rd of May, handed over premises in Vilnius to the Orthodox Christian community under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. These premises have been empty and unused for some time. The Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople was officially established in Lithuania in February, allowing it to receive almost 80 000 euros in state support later that month. The community began to form in March 2023 after the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople to Lithuania. Efforts to establish the new Orthodox community started amid a conflict between several clergy and the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. The archdiocese accused the priests of canonical offenses and defrocked them. However, the Patriarchate of Constantinople ruled that the priests had been removed unlawfully.
Lithuania’s CEC strips MP Žemaitaitis of his mandate
Lithuania’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) on Thursday, the 2nd of May, stripped controversial MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis of his mandate after the political submitted his request to have his mandate cancelled last week. His seat in the parliament will stay vacant until the end of this parliament as the Electoral Code states that no election is held if there is less than one year to go before a regular election, and Lithuania’s new parliament will be elected on the 13th of October. He himself handed in his request to have his mandate cancelled last week after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had violated his oath and grossly violated the Constitution when he made anti-Semitic statements. This way the leader of the Dawn of the Nemunas party avoided a vote in the parliament to strip him of his mandate, which would bar him from standing for election for ten years. Žemaitaitis is running for president in the 12th of May election.
Police seize 3.8-million worth of smuggled cigarettes
Officers of the Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service on Thursday, the 2nd of May, brought suspicions of smuggling illegal cigarettes abroad against eight persons and detained almost one million packs of cigarettes worth 3.8 million euros. Officers also detained two persons. Last week, customs officers, together with officers of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), Europol, the Financial Crimes Investigation Service (FCIS) and Lithuania’s anti-terrorist operations unit Aras, carried out searches in Vilnius, Kaunas, Jurbarkas, Alytus and Veisiejai as well as Marijampole District in connection with the disposition of cigarettes, their transportation to Norway, and the laundering of criminally obtained assets. A total of 961 000 packs of cigarettes, worth 3 854 000 euros including taxes, fell into the hands of officers during various arrests in Lithuania and abroad.
Volkov assailants to be handed over to Lithuania by mid-May
The two men detained in Poland in early April on suspicion of assaulting Russian opposition leader Leonid Volkov in Vilnius are expected to be brought to Lithuania by mid-May. Lithuania’s prosecution service said on Thursday, the 2nd of May. It is said that Lithuania is also seeking the extradition of the detained Belarusian citizen who, according to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, is suspected of ordering the attack on Volkov. The two Polish citizens were arrested in Warsaw on the 3rd of April, and the city’s regional court decided in the second half of April to extradite them to Lithuania.
US battalion to stay in Lithuania indefinitely
Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas, who on the 2nd of May was on his visit in the US, says he has been assured that the American battalion in Lithuania will stay in the country for an indefinite period, not until the end of 2025 as initially planned. It was announced in October 2022 that a US Army battalion would be deployed in Lithuania by the end of 2025 after the US approved a rotational force plan for the Baltic states. The minister also said that the Americans had advanced the delivery of Javelin anti-tank missiles to Lithuania, saying that they will now arrive later this month.
Laws violated, powers exceeded during SSD whistleblower probe
The temporary Seimas commission that investigated the State Security Department whistleblower case violated several laws and procedures during, the Seimas Commission for Ethics and Procedures said on Tuesday, the 30th of April. Five of its members voted in favour of this conclusion, while four were against. Social Democrat Dovilė Šakalienė recused herself from the vote because her spouse works for the SSD. The ethics watchdog ruled that the temporary commission had extended the scope of the investigation, taken over the functions of other state institutions, failed to follow the procedure laid down in the law when disclosing the whistleblower’s identity, requested criminal intelligence data from other services, and its chair Vytautas Bakas was biased and interested in the investigation. They accuse the whistleblower commission of bias, having exceeded its powers and exerted pressure.
Panevėžys district dwellers protest Rail Baltica node
Residents of Lithuania’s northern district of Panevėžys on Tuesday, the 30th of April, staged a protest in front of the Presidential Palace in Vilnius against the developers’ proposed option for the Panevėžys node of the Rail Baltica European standard-gauge railway. The node consists of an international passenger station in the western part of Panevėžys and an additional railway stretch of nearly 23 kilometres crossing the city. Tomas Rutkauskas of the Panevėžys District Public Interest Protection Group says they oppose the choice of what they see as an irrational node option that goes against the law, constitutional provisions, and public interest. Rail Baltica will connect Tallinn, Parnu, Riga, Panevėžys, Kaunas, Vilnius, and Warsaw, including a 392-kilometre stretch in Lithuania.
Rada official says Russia deported over 19 000 children from Ukraine
Russia has deported more than 19 000 Ukrainian children over the past two years, Olena Kondratiuk, vice speaker of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada, citing official Ukrainian data, said on Monday, the 29th of April, on her visit to Vilnius. Ukraine expects Russia to pay reparations to the affected families, and international tribunals and punishments for the people behind such deportations, Kondratiuk said at an event “Echoes of Tragedy: Civilian and Child Testimonies on the Russia’s War Against Ukraine”, held at the Lithuanian Seimas.
LTG reports 21.6 million euros in net profits for 2023
Lithuania’s state-owned railway group Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG) on Monday, the 29th of April, reported 21.6 million euros in net profits for 2023, almost a 22-fold increase from 1.2 million euros in 2022, as revenue grew by 4% to 452.6 million euros, from 434.1 million euros. LTG Group’s CEO Egidijus Lazauskas says the group updated its long-term strategy last year and is reinforcing its domestic rail links and stepping up integration with Europe. LTG Cargo, the group’s freight transportation arm, posted 4% growth in annual revenue to 288 million euros, from 276.7 million euros in 2022. Although the group’s overall freight volumes declined by 8% to 29 million tons in 2023, from 31 million tons the previous year, due to the strict control of sanctions, growing traffic in the Polish market helped it increase revenue.
Lithuanian leaders vow to bring Ukrainian military-age men back
President Gitanas Nausėda and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said on Monday, the 29th of April, they believe that Lithuania should, in principle, help Ukraine to get back its military-age men living abroad. To get more troops, the Ukrainian parliament has recently amended the mobilization law, lowering the age of conscription to 25 and increasing penalties for military service evaders. Previously, Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said Lithuania could follow in Poland’s footsteps when it comes to the conscription of military-age Ukrainian men living abroad.
SD leader slams ruling bloc for procrastinating defence funding decisions
Vilija Blinkevičiūtė, leader of the opposition Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), has accused the ruling coalition of dragging its feet on making decisions on additional defence funding. The LSDP leader said at the LSDP Council’s meeting that the ongoing debate on additional defence funds an “election narrative” of the ruling parties. Blinkevičiūtė reiterated that, among measures to raise extra revenue for defence funding, the Social Democrats propose increasing the corporate tax rate for highly profitable companies. Other proposed measures include issuing special defence bonds and extending the so-called temporary solidarity levy on banks, according to the LSDP leader.
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Week in Lithuania | MP Žemaitaitis stripped of mandate; Lithuanian leaders vow to send Ukrainian military-age men back
