A diplomatic scandal almost broke out in Lithuania this week when an opposition MP published his thoughts on Israel’s actions in its occupied territories on his Facebook account; meanwhile, the Lithuanian army plans to purchase several hundred trucks.
Lithuania reports 69 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths
Lithuania recorded 69 new coronavirus infections and no deaths from COVID-19 over Thursday, the 11th of May, the country’s public health authority, NVSC, said on Friday, the 12th of May. The 14-day primary infection rate has edged down to 35.6 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 11.1 percent. The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals now stands at 66, including two ICU cases. Around 1.19 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with COVID-19 at least once. Some 69.8 percent of people in the country have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far.
Linkytė qualifies for Eurovision song contest final
Lithuania’s Monika Linkytė on Thursday, the 11th of May, qualified for Saturday’s Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Although the contest is usually held in the winning country, this year it is being hosted by the United Kingdom due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country. Lithuania debuted in the competition in 1994. The country’s best ever result was sixth place in 2006, when LT United, a quintet of famous Lithuanian singers, performed We Are the Winners in Greece.
Lithuanian, Portuguese head-of-states meet
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda met with his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday, the 11th of May, and discussed security and defence issues, Russia’s war against Ukraine and bilateral cooperation. President Gitanas Nausėda stressed the need to reinforce the EU’s policy of sanctions against Russia and to continue raising the issue of Russia’s accountability for war crimes and crimes of aggression. According to the President, sanctions have to be imposed also on Belarus, which is involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine, in order to avoid unfounded exceptions.
Defence Ministry halts purchase of thermal imaging binoculars for Ukraine
Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence announced on Thursday, the 11th of May, it is suspending the purchase of thermal imaging binoculars for Ukraine after it emerged that the companies that won the tender are under pre-trial investigation. The police launched a pre-trial investigation against Ados-Tech and Ados Pro, the tender winner, in late March.
A MP voted for colleague, impeachment considered
Lithuanian MP Petras Gražulis, a member of the non-attached political group in the Lithuanian parliament, voted for another lawmaker, which is why there are grounds for his impeachment, a parliamentary commission decided on Wednesday, the 10th of May, after six out of 11 commission members voted were in favour. The whole Seimas is yet to vote on this conclusion. Having considered all facts, the impeachment commission concluded that Gražulis voted during a Seimas sitting not only for himself but also for Social Democrat Linas Jonauskas on the 15th of September, 2022. Gražulis is also facing impeachment because he has also been convicted of abuse of office for acting in the interests of Judex, a Kaunas-based frozen food production company in 2015-2017, and for unlawful interference with activities of public servants in Lithuania and Russia.
Speaker sees no need to remove Ukrainian flag on Seimas Facebook
Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen disagrees with the country’s Heraldry Commission and believes there’s no need to remove the colours of the Ukrainian flag from the parliament’s Facebook account. The Office of the Lithuanian Seimas said on Wednesday, the 10th of May, it could not accept the Heraldry Commission’s arguments and would not take into account its request to change the means of visual means of its informal communication. The Heraldry Commission sent a letter to the Seimas and the government, calling state institutions to stop using Ukrainian symbols on their Facebook accounts and stating that the Commission, however, cannot take a positive view of the replacement of Lithuanian institutions’ official symbols with Ukrainian symbols or their not always proper coordination. After the war broke out in Ukraine, some Lithuanian institutions, including the Seimas, changed their logos, replacing Lithuanian flags with Ukrainian flags, to express solidarity with the country under Russian attack.
Lithuania receives 542 million euros from EC
The European Commission has disbursed the first tranche of 542.3 million euros to Lithuania from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the EC Representation in Lithuania said on Wednesday, the 10th of May.
President calls MP’s Israel statement damaging
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda called on Tuesday, the 9th of May, MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis’ recent statement the demolition of a Palestinian school damaging to Lithuania and bilateral relations. Commenting on the demolition of a Palestinian primary school by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, Žemaitaitis wrote on his personal Facebook account last Sunday that “besides Putin, other animals have emerged in the world – Israel.” His post has been slammed by the Israeli, German and US ambassadors to Lithuania and top Lithuanian officials. Meanwhile, the Vilnius District Prosecutor’s Office has opened a pre-trial investigation into possible incitement to hatred.
Parliament approves temporary solidarity levy for banks
The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday, the 9th of May, voted in favour of the government’s proposal to introduce a temporary solidarity contribution payable by all banks and credit institutions, a levy that is expected to raise over 400 million euros for defence needs, and civilian and military infrastructure projects. The Law on Temporary Solidarity Contribution passed in a vote of 103 to 12 with 13 abstentions. The government has proposed the temporary tax as the country’s banks are this year forecast to make around a billion euros in combined profits which are seen as unexpected and are due to the ECB raising key interest rates.
Seimas passes package of “green” fuel excise duties
Lithuanian lawmakers on Tuesday, the 9th of May, adopted a package of “green” fuel excise duties. The new law will increase the existing excise duties on polluting fuels, introduce additional pollution taxes and scrap exemptions. However, the use of cheaper diesel by farmers will not be restricted. And the diesel excise duty will be gradually aligned with that of petrol to encourage the use of less polluting fuels. In all, 69 MPs voted in favour of the proposed amendments to the Law on Excise Duty, submitted to the Seimas back in 2021, 39 voted against and 20 MPs abstained. The amendments keep the same exemption for the so-called farmers’ diesel but increase the excise duty on red diesel for heating: the two fuels will be subject to the same excise duty of 60 euros per 1,000 litres. A CO2 constituent will be added to the excise duty rates from 2025.
Lithuania mulls national ban on sanctioned goods reaching Russia
In a bid to prevent goods subject to Western sanctions from reaching Russia via other countries, Vilnius is seeking approval from Brussels for a national ban on shipping some goods out of Lithuania, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Tuesday, the 9th of May. The minister said that such a ban would primarily apply to dual-use goods. If adopted, such a decision would allow Lithuania to ban the export of certain goods unilaterally, without the consent of other EU members, according to Landsbergis. In the minister’s words, a national decision to restrict the exit of goods does not mean that Lithuania is not satisfied with the EU’s overall policy on sanctions. The central Bank of Lithuania estimates that Lithuania’s total exports to Russia fell by 4 percent between the start of the war and the end of 2022, but its exports to other CIS markets rose by 4.2 percent.
Lithuanian military to buy 371 trucks for 216 million euros
Lithuania is buying 371 trucks for its Armed Forces for around 216 million euros, the Defence Ministry said on Monday, the 8th of May. The Defence Materiel Agency has signed a contract with Veho Lietuva to purchase 230 AROCS special-purpose trucks with spare parts and 141 ZETROS trucks equipped with cranes. The trucks are to be delivered between 2023 and 2030. The Lithuanian Armed Forces will use the AROCS trucks, manufactured by German’s Daimler AG, for logistics operations. The military currently operate 25 such trucks, which were purchased in 2021.