Last week, President Nausėda said he would prefer energy subsidies to 3% of the GDP defence budget, Interior Ministry is drafting a bill that aims to legalise pushbacks of irregular migrants at the border only in crisis situations.
Border guards turn 99 irregular migrants away
Lithuanian border guards turned away 99 migrants on Thursday, 1 September, attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Friday, 2 September. Lithuanian border guards have sent more than 13 600 people back to Belarus since 3 August, 2021, when they were given the right to deny entry to irregular migrants. Almost 4 200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally last year.
Lithuania reports 726 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths
Lithuania recorded 726 new coronavirus infections and two deaths from COVID-19 over Thursday, 1 September, official statistics showed on Friday, 2 September. Of the new cases, 535 were primary, 181 were secondary and 10 were tertiary. The number of hospital patients now stands at 106, including eight ICU cases.
The 14–day primary infection rate has edged down to 449.1 cases per 100 000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 43.9%. More than 1.2 million people in Lithuania have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once. Some 69.9% of the Lithuanian population have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far.
Foreign minister rebukes EC president over Gorbachev’s praising
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Thursday, 1 September, that «it would have been nice» for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to take into account the history of the Baltic countries when assessing the role of last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
EC President was one of the first top-ranking politicians to express condolences over the death of Gorbachev.
She praised the former Soviet president as a «trusted and respected leader» who «opened the way for a free Europe».
In Lithuania, however, Gorbachev will be remembered for cracking down on independence-seekers. Fourteen civilians were killed and hundreds more were injured when the Soviet troops stormed the TV Tower and the Radio and Television Committee building in Vilnius in the early hours of 13 January 1991.
President says Nord Pool’s price–setting algorithms need to be changed
The problem of sky–high electricity prices could only be truly resolved by increased generation, but it is also necessary to change price–setting algorithms used by the power exchange Nord Pool, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Thursday, 1 September.
Under the current Nord Pool’s price–setting algorithm, even smaller price bids are rejected in some cases, with market participants saying that such an algorithm paradox leads to a situation when very expensive generation capacity capable of offering very specific amounts of energy leads to record–high electricity price on the exchange.
President prefers energy subsidies to 3% of the GDP defence budget
President Gitanas Nausėda said on Wednesday, 31 August, that he would give preference to subsidising electricity and natural gas prices over raising the country’s defence spending to 3% of GDP in 2023 if there are not enough funds in next year’s budget for both.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė has said that subsidising part of electricity and natural gas bills may cost the state between 500 million and a billion euros next year.
According to her, the government is currently drafting next year’s state budget and will present it to Nausėda and the parliamentary opposition once it is ready.
The government earlier this year allocated 570 million euros in budget funds to subsidize part of electricity and natural gas bills for households and businesses in the second half of 2022. Of the funds, around 370 million euros went to cover the debt of Ignitis, the public supplier, and about 200 million euros were allocated to natural gas and electricity suppliers.
GDP contracts 0.5 % in the second quarter vs the first quarter
Lithuania’s real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.5% in the second quarter versus the first quarter, to 16.1 billion euros at current prices, the second estimate from the country’s statistics office showed on Wednesday, August 31. Yea–on–year, the country’s GDP grew by 2.6% from April through June. Flash estimates published late in July showed that the country’s GDP grew by 2.8% in the second quarter year-on-year but shrank by 0.45% on a quarterly basis. The latest growth figures are based on calendar and seasonally adjusted data.
Minister says the bill aims to legalise migrant pushbacks only in crisis situations
The Lithuanian Interior Ministry is drafting a bill that aims to legalise pushbacks of irregular migrants at the border only in crisis situations, Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė said on Tuesday, 30 August. The bill, which is almost ready, would only allow border guards to use the measure when the country is under an extreme situation, a state of emergency, or martial law, according to the minister.
Currently, border guards are allowed to deny entry to irregular migrants based on a decree signed by the minister in August 2021.
If the measure is allowed by law, the responsibility will fall on the parliament as a whole, according to the minister.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said on Monday, 29 August, that she did not rule out proposing legislative amendments that would allow Lithuania to apply the policy of turning migrants away even when there is no extreme situation or a state of emergency.
Critics say that these actions effectively amount to expulsions, a practice that violates international law.
Presidential adviser slams Belarus’ officers for tampering of border fence
Kęstutis Budrys, the Lithuanian president’s senior adviser on national security affairs, slammed on Monday, 29 August, tampering with the border fence by Belarus’ officers as provocations balancing on a very dangerous verge.
Budrys stressed that Lithuania found itself in a very dangerous zone due to such circumstances as Belarus’ officers were being sent to another country to tamper with physical assets and protective facilities.
Lithuania completed the construction of the physical barrier – a fence and razor wire – along its border with Belarus at the end of last week. Even though migrant flows decreased early this year, the number of irregular migrants trying to cross into Lithuania has been growing once again of lately.
Lithuania names its most influential public figures
Lithuania’s experts have named journalist and TV host Edmundas Jakilaitis, political scientist Linas Kojala and historian Alfredas Bumblauskas as the country’s most influential public figures, according to a survey published by the Delfi.lt online news site on Monday, 29 August. The trio is then followed in the annual rating by humanitarian activist Jonas Ohman and Catholic priest Ričardas Doveika.
The so–called elite survey was carried out for Delfi by the magazine Reitingai, which interviewed 925 politicians, businesspeople, civil servants, journalists, public figures, and other well-known people between 17 May and 23 June.