In his speech, the President called for continued support for Ukraine, while the Seimas approved the tax reform package and decided that the development of the 5G mobile network is a national priority.
Lithuania bans flavoured heated tobacco products
The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, on Thursday, the 22nd of June, banned the sale of heated tobacco products with an added aroma or flavour in the country as of the 23rd of October and obliged manufacturers to put a health warning on their packages. The respective amendments to the Law on Control of Tobacco, Tobacco Products and Related Products passed in a vote of 103 to one with four abstentions. The Seimas also banned the sale in Lithuania of heated tobacco products containing additives that may enhance or modify their smell, taste or smoke intensity. This currently only applies to cigarettes and rolling tobacco. Wholesale trade in heated tobacco products jumped by 27.3 percent in Lithuania last year, according to data from the State Tax Inspectorate.
Media watchdog blocks IP addresses used to log in Russian channels
The Radio and Television Commission of Lithuania on Wednesday, the 21st of June, decided to block IP addresses used to access Russia’s main TV channels already banned in Lithuania. It made similar decisions in March and May. The regulations adopted by the Council of the European Union mention the following entities subject to restrictive measures: Russia Today English, Russia Today UK, Russia Today Germany, Russia Today France, Russia Today Spanish, Sputnik, Rossiya RTR/RTR Planeta, Rossiya 24/Russia 24, TV Centre International, NTV/NTV Mir, Rossiya 1, REN TV, Pervyi Kanal.
Government considers 5G development project of national importance
The Lithuanian government on Wednesday, the 21st of June, deemed a project aimed at ensuring access to high-speed 5G connectivity throughout Lithuania by 2030 has been recognized as a project of national importance and 5 million euros have been allocated for this project. The project is aimed at accelerating the 5G roll-out in the country, with the return on investment into this project to be 4 to 7 times higher, according to a cost-benefit analysis carried out last year. If the project had failed to receive recognition as a project of national importance, the country would have lost 22-36 million euros, the Transport and Communications Ministry said. Under the 2022-2030 plan, 5G connectivity will be in place in five of Lithuania’s largest cities this year, and it would be rolled out in all cities, airports, seaports, trunk roads, and railways by 2025.
Government endorses tax reform package
Lithuania’s government on Wednesday, the 21st of June, approved a draft tax reform package after discussing it for the first time, and it will be put before the country’s parliament next week. Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said she hopes that in-depth discussions will take place over the summer and concrete proposals could be discussed in the fall. The package is aimed at making the tax system fairer, she said. The bill was adjusted under the Finance Ministry’s proposal as it proposes increasing the threshold for the additional income tax rate, changing the way the corporate income tax for small companies is calculated, and also raising the threshold for tax-free residential real estate.
Lithuanian Railways to buy 15 electric trains from Poland
LTG Link, the passenger arm of Lithuania’s state railway group Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), announced on Wednesday, the 21st of June, it is set to purchase 15 new electric and battery-powered trains from Stadler Polska, the Polish subsidiary of the Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail, for a total of 226.5 million euros. The companies signed the contract in Vilnius on Wednesday. LTG Link CEO Linas Baužys says the company will purchase nine electric trains to run between Vilnius and Klaipeda, and six battery-electric trains to run on non-electrified sections. According to the company, the first trains are scheduled to be delivered to Lithuania in 2025, and passengers will be able to travel on them as early as the middle of 2026, with all 15 procured trains expected to be running in 2027.
FSRU to go to southwestern European port for repairs next spring
Klaipėdos Nafta plans to send the Klaipeda LNG terminal’s Independence floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) to a port in southwestern Europe, possibly France, Spain or Portugal, for repairs next spring before buying the vessel from Norway’s Hoegh LNG. As Independence requires a large dock, which is not available in Klaipeda and neighbouring ports, the vessel will be taken to a southwestern European port, Klaipėdos Nafta said in a press release on Tuesday, the 20th of June The inspection of Independence in the dry dock will involve renewing the anti-corrosion coating of the hull and other periodic maintenance work. The FSRU is tentatively scheduled to be out of service in May-June 2024. In the meantime, Lithuania will be supplied with natural gas through the Lithuanian-Polish pipeline and from Latvia’s Incukalns storage facility.
Lithuanian-German bilateral military exercise started
Griffin Storm, a Lithuanian-German bilateral military exercise, commenced in the General Silvestras Žukauskas Training Area in the eastern district of Švenčionys on Wednesday, the 21st of June. The exercise, which will be running until the 7th of July, is “a stage of a continuous training cycle that began with raised alert level at 41st Brigade units and beginning of preparation in Germany”, the Lithuanian Armed Forces have said in a press release. Last Friday, the German brigade’s 411th Panzergrenadier Battalion and its attached units began redeployment to Lithuania, with around 1,000 military personnel and 320 pieces of military equipment deployed by road, ferry, air and rail.
Žalgiris Club asks UEFA to change match date due to NATO summit
Lithuania’s football champion Vilnius Žalgiris has asked UEFA to change the date of its Champions League qualifier against North Macedonia’s FC Struga, scheduled for July 11th to 12th of July, as Vilnius will host a NATO summit on these days. Zalgiris is scheduled to play in Struga, northern Macedonia, on July 18-19 and it proposed playing the first match in North Macedonia on the 11th-12th of July and then playing in Vilnius, Vaidotas Januška, Žalgiris’ communication manage, said on Tuesday, the 20th of June.
Lithuania’s ruling block updates Coalition pact
Lithuania’s ruling block including the conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, the Liberal Movement and the Freedom party updated on Tuesday, the 20th of June, its coalition agreement and set up a new format for coordinating decisions, a coalition council. This new format will include Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, HU-LCD leader and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, Aušrinė Armonaitė, leader of the Freedom Party, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the Liberal Movement, as well as representatives of the three parties’ political groups in the Seimas – Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulenienė, Vytautas Mitalas and Gentvilas. In the past, the HU-LCD was skeptical about the establishment of such a council.
President says Lithuania has no long-term support plan for Ukraine
Lithuania does not have a long-term support plan for Ukraine, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Tuesday, the 20th of June, delivering his 4th State of the Nation Address. “Political, military, financial and humanitarian aid from Lithuania and the Western democratic world is saving lives every day. Together we help Ukraine not only to withstand but also to liberate seized territories. We cannot stop,” the president said at the Seimas.
NGOs want MPs to ask for top court’s opinion on Istanbul Convention
The Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights (LCHR) and the Lithuanian Association for the Enforcement of Women’s Rights called on the speaker and other members of the parliament on Monday, the 19th of June, to ask the Constitutional Court to look into whether the Istanbul Convention is in line with the country’s Constitution. “We have to give a clear answer to the public as to what the Istanbul Convention is about and what systemic measures we will take to combat violence against women,” Jūratė Juškaitė, the LCHR director, said at a press conference.
Week in Lithuania: authority blocks IP addresses used for Russian channels; ruling block updates coalition pact
