Last week, Lithuania said it will hold a large-scale mobilisation exercise next year; Taiwanese Foreign minister met with Seimas speaker and MPs
Presidential office hosted fifth Forum of Regions
The Lithuanian presidential office on Friday, the 10th of November, hosted he annual Forum of Regions, initiated by President Gitanas Nausėda, which provides a platform for discussions on key regional policy and local government development issues. The Forum, which was held for the fifth time, is traditionally organised in cooperation with the Interior Ministry and the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania (ALAL), the presidential office said in a press release. President Gitanas Nausėda, ALAL President Mindaugas Sinkevičius and Interior Minister Agne Bilotaitė delivered welcoming speeches.
Lithuania to receive 1.75 billion euros in European loans, grants
The EU Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Brussels on Thursday, the 9th of November, approved an updated economic recovery plan New Generation Lithuania, which provides for 1.75 billion euros of new investments, most of which will be loans. Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė says 1 billion euros will be allocated for business loans and other financial instruments, and more than 550 million euros will be provided in loans for electricity generation from renewable sources. A further 198.4 million euros will come as a grant from the RepowerEU initiative, the Finance Ministry said. The new investments are expected to boost real GDP growth by 0.97% on average, or 492.5 million euros per year, between 2023 and 2027.
Migration Department revokes ex-Yedinstvo leader’s permanent residence permit
The Migration Department has revoked the permanent residence permit in Lithuania of Valery Ivanov, the former leader of the pro-Soviet organization Yedinstvo. This decision was taken after the Migration Department carried out an investigation, analysed publicly available information and received additional information from the country’s responsible institutions – the State Security Department, the Police Department, the State Border Guard Service, the Migration Department said on Thursday, the 9th of November. The decision can be appealed within 14 days. LNK TV News was the first to break this news.
Taiwanese Foreign minister meets with Seimas speaker
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu met with over a dozen Lithuanian MPs, including Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, at the Seimas in Vilnius on Thursday, the 9th of November, and discussed ties between Vilnius and Taipei. On the eve of the visit, Lithuania’s leaders and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said they would not meet with the Taiwanese minister because of the one-China policy and they avoid any hint of recognition of Taiwan, but the Seimas speaker received Wu for a few minutes in her office. This is the first time a Taiwanese foreign minister visits the Baltic states.
Foreign minister alarmed by Western officials’ Ukraine peace talks considerations
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has called Western officials’ considerations of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia ‘dangerous’. Citing sources, the American NBC TV channel reported that US and European officials had begun quiet talks with Kyiv about possible peace talks with the Kremlin to end the war. “My position is that these are very dangerous considerations,” the Lithuanian minister told reporters on Wednesday, the 8th of November, adding that Ukraine must decide for itself whether and when to start such talks. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that he was not ready for such talks with Russia until its troops leave the country’s territory.
Lithuania reports 560 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths
Lithuania recorded 560 new coronavirus infections and no deaths from COVID-19 over Wednesday, the 8th of November, NVSC, the country’s public health authority, said on Thursday, the 9th of November. The 14-day primary infection rate has risen to 216 cases per 100 000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 35.3%. The number of new coronavirus cases hit the peak in Lithuania in early February 2022 when more than 14 000 new infections were recorded daily. Around 1.19 million people in Lithuania have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once.
Justice Ministry looking for alternative ways to react to ECHR ruling on LGBTIQ
The Lithuanian Justice Ministry said on Tuesday, the 7th of November, it is looking for alternative ways to react to the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which stated that the rights of writer Neringa Macatė had been violated by the suspension of the publication of her book “Amber Heart”. The government proposed to abolish the existing legislative provisions banning the dissemination to minors of information “denigrating family values” and promoting the LGBTIQ family concept. The publication of the said book was suspended on the basis of these particular provisions. However, Lithuanian lawmakers rejected the proposal on Tuesday, the 7th of November. Some lawyers say that the current legal framework could be referred to the Constitutional Court for clarification whether the law discriminates against a section of society.
Top court finds solar power farms’ capacity limit unconstitutional
The 2 GW limit on the capacity of commercial solar farms, set in Lithuania by law last year without specifying how the development of ongoing projects should continue to be regulated, is unconstitutional, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday, the 7th of November. The country’s basic law is also at odds with the government’s decision of the 1st of February, which approved, with certain restrictions, the further development of commercial solar parks beyond the 2 GW limit, it said. Adopted in June 2022, the amendments to the Law on Energy from Renewable Resources stipulate that the total installed capacity of such farms cannot exceed 2 GW, and that no permits for grid connection will be issued once this limit is reached. Last year’s amendments to the law set a maximum capacity of 2 GW for commercial solar farms, and 4.4 GW when combined with generating consumers. The Energy Ministry said the cap for commercial solar projects was set to ensure that grid capacity was sufficient for businesses, generating consumers and other renewable energy sources.
LTG suspends re-exports of luxury cars to third countries from December
LTG Cargo, the freight arm of Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), Lithuania’s state-owned railway company, announced on Monday, the 6th of November, it will suspend re-exports of luxury cars via Lithuania to third countries from the 1st of December, and they will be subject to enhanced checks in November. The move comes after an internal investigation revealed that luxury cars shipped to third countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Turkmenistan, may be traveling to Russia in violation of the existing EU sanctions. Earlier in the day, LTG said it would reject all applications for the shipment to third countries of cars valued at more than 50 000 euros and produced in the last five years. 214 wagons with around 2,140 cars went through Lithuania in January, which is 10 times more than in 2022 (21 wagons, up to 210 cars), and the value of these cars ranged between 70 000 and 200 000 euro.
Construction of European Vilnius-Klaipėda railway track to begin by 2030
Construction of a European-gauge railway track for the Vilnius-Klaipeda high-speed train may begin by 2030, Transport Minister Marius Skuodis said on Monday, the 6th of November. According to him, this goal could be achieved by including Klaipėda in the European Union’s (EU) transport network (TEN-T). “The first legal foundations have already been laid at EU level: the rail link to Klaipėda has been included in the EU-wide transport network project. The aim is to start building the European track for the Vilnius-Klaipėda high-speed train by 2030,” a press release from the Transport Ministry quoted Skuodis as saying. Klaipėda was included in the TEN-T project at the informal meeting of EU Transport Ministers in Barcelona in September. The project still needs to be approved by the European Parliament.
Lithuania to hold large-scale mobilization exercise next year
A large-scale mobilization exercise will be organized in Lithuania next year, Kęstutis Budrys, a presidential advisor, said after the State Defence Council (SDC) meeting on Monday, the 6th of November. The SDC also assessed the work done on mobilization over the last two years, he said. Also on Monday the SDC approved the country’s State Defence Plan that enshrines the principle of universal defence, “where all state resources – state institutions, the private sector, NGOs and citizens – are mobilised“.
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Week in Lithuania | Migration Department revokes ex-Soviet organisation Yedinstvo leader’s permanent residence permit; LTG suspends re-exports of luxury cars to third countries
