Last week, Beijing slammed Foreign minister comments on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan; first monkeypox was case confirmed
Bitė Lietuva, Tele2, Telia Lietuva acquire 5G frequency band in Lithuania
Mobile operators Bitė Lietuva, Tele2 and Telia Lietuva have acquired the frequency band necessary for the launch of the next-generation mobile communication technology in Lithuania, following the end of the auction for 5G frequencies held by the Lithuanian Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT), the authority announced on Friday, August 5.
The auction results have yet to be formally published. The successful bidders will be required to launch 5G services in at least one of Lithuania’s major cities from 2023, and to install 5G networks in major cities from 2024. Operators will have to make it possible for all households to connect to 100 Mbps stations from 2025.
EC greenlights Lithuania’s plans on 7.5-billion-euro investment by 2027
The European Commission on Friday, August 5, approved the Program for the European Union (EU) Funds’ Investments 2021-2027, which provides for 7.449 billion euros in investment in Lithuania, the Finance Ministry has reported.
Nearly 47 percent of the program’s funds will be allocated for investment in innovation and green transformation, and 30 percent will be channelled for the strengthening of human capital, addressing social inclusion challenges and improving achievements in the areas of education, healthcare and culture.
The ministry said in its press release those 1.62 billion euros would be allocated to regions, which would plan their investment autonomously and would enable communities to mutually agree on necessary projects. As planned, the total volume of EU funds’ investment in Lithuania will reach 8 billion euros and, with the 7.5-billion-euro investment plan already approved by the European Commission, the remaining amount will be provided from the Just Transition Fund.
Lithuania’s unemployment drops to 5.2 percent
Lithuania’s unemployment rate fell by 2.2 percentage points in the second quarter of 2022 year-on-year to 5.2 percent, the country’s statistics office, Statistics Lithuania, said on Thursday, August 4.
Quarter-on-quarter, the jobless rate decreased by 1.1 points, based on the data from a labour force survey. Unemployment stood at 5.7 percent among men and at 4.8 percent among women in April through June. Unemployment among young people aged between 15 and 24 years fell by 7.8 points over the year and by 1.1 points over the quarter to 11.6 percent.
Long-term unemployment decreased by 0.6 percent on a year-on-year basis to 2.1 percent.
Beijing describes Landsbergis’ comments on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan as «erroneous»
The Office of the Chargé d’Affaires of the People’s Republic of China in Lithuania on Thursday, August 4, described the remarks made by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis about a visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi as «erroneous».
It said that remarks made by some Lithuanian politicians further undermine the bilateral relations between China and Lithuania and damage the credibility of the Lithuanian country and the fundamental interests of its people. Landsbergis was the only one among the European Union’s high-ranking politicians to publicly support Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Prime minister to be on vacation next week
Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė will be on a vacation next week, her spokeswoman announced on Wednesday, August 3.
Šimonytė will be substituted by Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis during her vacation. Overall, more than half of Cabinet members will be out on a vacation next week.
First monkeypox case confirmed in Lithuania
A first monkeypox case has been confirmed in Lithuania, the Health Ministry reported on Wednesday, August 3.
The Health Ministry reported in July that Lithuania had ordered approximately 1,400 monkeypox vaccine doses. The ministry then said that jabs would be administered to case contacts after a high-risk exposure and there would be no possibilities for preventive vaccination. Vaccination against pox in Lithuania was stopped in approximately 1980.
EC’s Kaliningrad transit guidance doesn’t weaken sanction policy
The European Commission’s updated guidance that allowed resuming the Kaliningrad transit does not weaken the EU’s sanction policy, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told CNN on Tuesday, August 2.
Lithuania suspended the transit of sanctioned goods to Kaliningrad after the EU restrictions on Russia came into force in June. Lithuanian officials said at the time the decision was based on the EC’s clarification.
Interior ministry says EU being consulted on implementation of CJEU’s decision
Interior Minister Agne Bilotaitė confirmed on Tuesday, August 2, that the ministry was drafting a bill to legalise the turning-back of irregular migrants at the border. Bilotaitė says the legislation would allow border guards to use such measures during an extreme and emergency situation and during a state of war.
Lithuania introduced the measures last year in response to an influx of migrants trying to cross into its territory from Belarus, accusing the Minsk regime of having orchestrated the influx. In total, more than 11,000 irregular migrants have been refused entry to Lithuanian from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when the interior minister ordered border guards to turn irregular migrants back.
Presidential advisor condemns participation in anti-Lithuanian activities
Civic participation in anti-Lithuanian activities must be subject to a legal assessment, Kestutis Budrys, the Lithuanian president’s senior adviser on national security affairs, said on Monday, August 1, following four Lithuanians’ recent visit to Moscow.
On Monday, the Prosecutor General’s Office was looking into both the circumstances surrounding the establishment of the association The International Forum for Good Neighbourhood and the visit of its members to Moscow last week.
In June, Algirdas Paleckis, a controversial Lithuanian figure who is serving a prison sentence for spying for Russia, registered the association. The Prison Department later found that he could not use his e-signature to register the organisations, meaning that it could have been done by a third person on his behalf.
New car registrations shrink 33.9 percent in July
Some 2,300 new passenger cars were registered in Lithuania in July, down 33.9 percent from the same month a year ago, Autotyrimai said on Monday, August 1, citing data from Lithuania’s state-owned car registration enterprise Regitra.
The volumes of fast re-exports were extremely low in July as only 28 registered new cars were taken of the register by the end of the month, and another seven are set to be taken of the register in the near future. Passenger car registrations fell by 34.2 percent to 2,100, while those of light commercial vehicles went down 30.1 percent to 158. Last month, 160 all-electric electric vehicles were registered, almost 2.2 times more than a year ago.
Since the beginning of the year, a total of 18,100 new passenger cars have been registered in Lithuania, down 25.2 percent from a year earlier.
Week in Lithuania: first monkeypox case confirmed, Beijing slammed Foreign minister comments on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan
