Last week, Lithuanian, Polish troops took part in joint drills in Alytus, Football Federation called criticism political PR
Lithuania’s economic sentiment weakens in July
Lithuania’s economic sentiment indicator, which measurers confidence in the economy among producers, consumers and investors, slid to minus 3.3 percent in July, from minus 2.5 percent in June, figures from Statistics Lithuania showed on Friday, 29 July. Month-on-month, services confidence weakened to 0.7 percent, from 3.3 percent, construction confidence fell to minus 13.1 percent, from minus 11.4 percent, and consumer confidence was down to minus 11.7 percent, from minus 10.9 percent. Industrial confidence improved to minus 1.4 percent, from minus 2 percent, and retail confidence remained unchanged.
Lithuania adds 1 279 new Covid-19 cases, one death
Lithuania recorded 1 279 new coronavirus infections and one death from Covid-19 over 28July, official statistics showed on Friday morning. Some 936 of the new cases were primary, 326 were secondary and 13 were tertiary. The number of hospital patients now stands at 126, including four ICU cases. The 14-day primary infection rate has risen further over the past 24 hours to 478.4 cases per 100 000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests up to 51.2 percent. However, the daily number of new coronavirus cases is still way below the peak of over 14 000 reached in early February. More than 1.1 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with Covid-19 at least once.
Border guards deter 23 irregular migrants away on border
Lithuanian border guards on Thursday, 28 July, turned away 23 migrants trying to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service said on Friday, 29 July. Lithuanian border guards have sent over 11 000 people back to Belarus since 3 August, 2021, when they were given the right to deny entry to irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border. Almost 4 200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally last year.
Lithuania ranks 14th in EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index
Lithuania was ranked 14th in the EU’s 2022 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), unchanged from last year, with a score above the bloc’s average. Lithuania scored 52.7 points, compared with the EU’s average of 52.3, the Economy and Innovation Ministry said on Thursday, 28 July. According to the European Commission, Lithuania performs very well in digital public services, where its score is almost twice the EU average, rising from 12th to 10th place. The number of e-government users has steadily increased to reach 70 percent of Internet users. Estonia is ranked 9th in the index, Latvia is at number 17 and Poland is in 24th place. The European Commission has been monitoring member states’ digital progress since 2014.
Nausėda says that Lithuania will back Ukraine until victory
Lithuania will support Ukraine until its victory in the war against Russia and will make further efforts to keep the West focused on limiting Russia’s ability to continue its invasion, President Gitanas Nausėda said in Kyiv on Thursday, 28 July. Lithuania has been united by a strong desire to help Ukraine since the start of the war, the president said, noting that not only state authorities and municipal institutions, but also ordinary Lithuanian people, businesses and non-governmental organizations have joined the effort to help the war-torn country.
IMF pegs Lithuania’s 2022 GDP growth forecast at 1.8 percent
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has kept its forecast for Lithuania’s 2022 economic growth unchanged from April at 1.8 percent, with growth expected to accelerate to 2.3 percent in 2023. In its report published on Thursday, 28 July, the IMF expects Lithuania’s inflation to reach 17.9 percent this year before decelerating to 8.5 percent next year. The fund’s experts warned that high uncertainty and geopolitical risks could adversely affect economic growth trends and lead to persistently high inflation, driven largely by external factors such as the recent spike in global energy and food prices amid Russia’s war against Ukraine.
US troop drowns after car veers off bridge in Klaipeda
A US serviceman died after his car fell off a drawbridge into a river in the Lithuanian port city of Klaipeda, the police reported on Thursday, 28 July. According to the sources, the 30-year-old US serviceman was in civilian clothes. He had come from Latvia in a rented car and stayed in a hotel in Klaipeda. At the time of the accident, the drawbridge was up and the barrier was down.
Lithuanian, Polish troops take part in joint drills in Alytus
Lithuanian and Polish troops took part in a joint exercise in the Lithuanian southern city of Alytus on 25-27 July, the Lithuanian military said on Thursday, 28 July. It included members of the Grand Duchess Birute Uhlan Battalion, Poland’s 15th Mechanized Brigade, the Polish Forward Presence Battle Group, and the Headquarters Multinational Division North East, MND-NE. The exercise included the deployment of the MND-NE headquarters, joint operations and live-fire exercises for Lithuanian, Polish, US, British and Romanian troops.
Football Federation calls criticism political PR
The recent criticism of the Lithuanian Football Federation and calls for direct management are part of political PR, the federation’s secretary general Edgaras Stankevičius said on Tuesday, 26 July. Earlier in the day, Mykolas Majauskas, chairman of the Lithuanian parliamentary Committee on Budget and Finance, proposed introducing direct management of the Lithuanian Football Federation, stating that it needs a normalization phase and appointment of a temporary regulator for that period. Also, the politician said an independent audit of the federation’s activity and financial performance is also necessary, as well as a change in the statute in line with FIFA standards and new democratic elections of the federation’s bodies.
Ignitis Renewables starts building 70-million-euro wind farm in Poland
Ignitis Renewables, part of Lithuania’s the state-owned energy group Ignitis Grupe (Ignitis Group), announced on Tuesday, 26 July, it has started building a 50 MW wind farm in southwestern Poland and plans to invest 70 million euros. To be situated near the village of Bakowo in Lower Silesia, the wind farm is scheduled to start producing electricity in the last quarter of 2023 and is expected to generate around 122 GWh of electricity per year, Ignitis Group said. CJR Renewables will install fourteen 3.6 MW wind turbines from Nordex on the new wind farm and will be responsible for all major engineering and construction work.
Nausėda says Lithuania-Poland unity «vital» in face of Russian aggression
President Gitanas Nausėda told his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, on Monday, 25 July, that he expects the two neighbouring countries to remain united in defence and security in the face of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine. The Lithuanian and Polish leaders agreed on the need to continue military assistance to Ukraine because the arming of Ukrainians will eventually determine the outcome of the war, according to the press release. The presidents also discussed rebuilding Ukrainian cities and infrastructure destroyed by the Russian forces.
Week in Lithuania: border guards turn 23 irregular migrants away; a US serviceman drowns after his car veers off bridge in Klaipėda
