Linas Jegelevičius
The Lithuanian company is planning the construction of a solar panel park in Latvia, in the vicinity of Jēkabpils, while the Ignalina NPP is preparing for the dismantling process by signing a contract with the world’s leading experts.
Zelensky addresses the Freedom Prize ceremony
Lithuania has not betrayed freedom for a minute, which is the best tribute to the victims of the Soviet crackdown on civilians in Vilnius on January 13, 1991, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the laureate of Lithuania’s 2022 Freedom Prize, told the award ceremony on Friday, January 13.
President Nausėda says January 13 deaths were not in vain
Lithuania on Friday, January 13, marked the Day of Freedom Defenders to honour the victims of the Soviet crackdown on unarmed civilians in Vilnius on January 13, 1991. Fourteen civilians were killed and hundreds were injured when the Soviet troops stormed the TV Tower and the Radio and Television Committee building in Vilnius in the early hours of January 13, 1991. The realisation that the January 13 victims did not die in vain eases the pain over their deaths, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on Friday, attending a civic campaign at Antakalnis Gymnasium in Vilnius. Lithuania’s struggle for freedom on January 13 is also an inspiration for the Ukrainians as they are defending their country, Nausėda said. The president started the morning of January 13 with a lesson on citizenship.
Lithuania reports 230 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
Lithuania recorded 230 new coronavirus infections and two deaths from COVID-19 over Thursday, January 12, the NVSC, the country’s public health authority, said on Friday, January 13. Of the new cases, 165 were primary, 59 were secondary and six were tertiary. The number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 now stands at 112, including eight ICU cases. The 14-day primary infection rate has edged down to 153.6 cases per 100,000 people, but the seven-day percentage of positive tests has ticked up to 15.7 percent. Some 69.7 percent of people in Lithuania have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far.
Lithuania’s opera theatre removes works by Russian composers from its repertoire
The Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre announced on Thursday, January 12, it had removed works by Russian composers from this season’s repertoire. On February 10, 11 and 14, Sergey Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet will be replaced by the ballet Barbora Radvilaitė, and a diptych of one-act ballets with Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring will be substituted by the ballet The Trial on February 23, 24 and 25.
President cautions against rushing to change pension system again
Lithuania should carry out an audit of its pension reform launched five years ago and evaluate the results before considering any changes to the system, President Gitanas Nausėda said on Thursday, January 12. The president’s comment comes amid public outrage over the automatic inclusion of people into the additional pension accumulation system. Nausėda noted that the Lithuanian pension system has been reformed repeatedly, but the result is not good. Figures from the Lithuanian Investment and Pension Funds Association (LIPFA) show that the weighted average return on the assets of Lithuania’s second-pillar pension funds was negative at minus 13.8 percent last year. Around 1.4 million working people participate in the second pillar pension system.
Lithuanian firm to build 100 MW solar PV project in Latvia
Green Genius, a Lithuanian renewable energy company operating in 8 European markets, announced on Wednesday, January 11, it starts implementing a 100 MW solar PV project in Latvia, valued at 90 million euros. Located in Jekabpils, the new project is said to be the first project this scale in Latvia. The solar park will cover an area exceeding 151 ha and is expected be fully authorized and ready for construction by June. The new solar park will generate power for about 41,000 households.
EU’s top court upholds EC’s 20-million-euro fine on LTG
Lithuania’s state-owned railway company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG) must pay a fine of 20 million euros for removing a rail track to Latvia back in 2008, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on Wednesday, January 11, upholding the General Court’s judgment. The European Commission fined LTG almost 28 million euros in 2017. The EU General Court in 2020 dismissed the Lithuanian company’s action for annulment of the EU executive body’s decision, but reduced the fine to 20 million euros. LTG asked the CJEU to annul, in whole or in part, the decisions of both the General Court and the EC, and, if this request is rejected, to annul or further reduce the imposed fine. LTG lodged its appealed with the CJEU in January 2021. The 19-kilometer railway stretch from Orlen Lietuva’s crude refinery in Mažeikiai to Renge in Latvia was dismantled in 2008. LTG said the condition of the track was so poor that it had to be removed immediately but failed to prove this. The company rebuilt the railway stretch in late 2019, which cost it 10 million euros.
Taiwan to help develop digital literacy in Lithuanian schools, businesses
Lithuanian Economy and Innovation Minister Aušrinė Armonaitė met with Taiwan’s Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang in Vilnius on Wednesday, January 11, and discussed new cooperation projects and progress in carrying out earlier agreements. Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Innovation Agency on cooperation in the development of digital skills of students and teachers in Lithuanian regions and on the introduction of digital technologies in business.
Lithuanian N-plant signs new contracts
Two international consortia have contracted to develop technologies for dismantling the reactors of Lithuania’s Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) for around 11 million euros, not including VAT, in total. The plant was shut down more than a decade ago and is now being decommissioned. On Wednesday, January 11, the INPP signed two contracts for design services for reactor dismantling technologies with some of the largest companies in the world’s nuclear energy market. These are a consortium that is led by Westinghouse Electric Spain, a subsidiary of US Westinghouse Electric, and also includes Jacobs Slovakia and the Lithuanian Energy Institute, and a consortium that is led by Electricite de France and also includes Graphitec. In late December, the INPP signed preliminary contracts with the contractors for a period of four years, each with a maximum price of 5.5 million euros (excluding VAT).Lithuania shut down the first RBMK-type reactor of the Soviet-era facility in late 2004 and closed the second unit at the end of 2009.
Cabinet approves legislation on turning away migrants at the border
The Lithuanian government approved on Wednesday, January 11, the Interior Ministry’s proposal to formalize in law the policy of turning away irregular migrants at the border. The draft amendments to the Law on the State Border and the Guard Thereof and to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens will now be sent to the parliament for approval. Currently, border guards are turning away irregular migrants on the basis of a decree signed by the interior minister in August 2021 amid an influx of illegal migration from neighbouring Belarus. Critics say that the practice effectively amounts to expulsions, which violates international law. Non-governmental organizations criticise the new amendments, saying that the government proposes only formal changes to provisions that go against EU directives and that it fails to address the issues identified by the EU Court of Justice. If approved by the parliament, the new legislation will take effect on June 1.
Lithuania reports 18.9 percent average annual HICP inflation for December
Lithuania’s average annual inflation rate, as measured by the EU Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), edged up to 18.9 percent in December, figures from the country’s statistics office showed on Tuesday, January 10. The EU-harmonised average annual rate last month was 0.8 percentage points lower than the rate measured by the national CPI. The harmonised 12-month inflation rate stood at 20 percent, lower than the CPI rate of 21.7 percent. According to the State Data Agency, the annual HICP inflation was mainly driven by increased prices for milk and milk products, solid fuels, meat and meat products, electricity, bread and cereals, heat energy, fuels and lubricants, vegetables, products and materials for maintenance and repair of the dwelling, and motors.
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Week in Lithuania: Celebrates Freedom Defenders Day, Lithuanians will build a solar panel park in Latvia
