Last week, Lithuania’s 241-million-euro lawsuit against France’s Veolia started; Prosecutor Office said it will seek a 10-year jail sentence for ex-MP’s sexual crimes
Lithuanian Defence Ministry classifies audit findings on Defence budget
The Defence Ministry has classified the findings of the National Audit Office’s audit on how Lithuania’s defence funds have been spent over the past three years, LRT Radio reported on Friday, the 21st of February. Transparency advocates have criticized the move, arguing that at least part of the report should be made public, as was promised before the audit. According to Auditor General Mindaugas Macijauskas, the audit did not reveal any cases of fund mismanagement or misuse in the Defence sector. Ingrida Kalinauskienė, CEO of Transparency International Lithuania, believes that some of the findings could have remained open to the public.
Lithuania to start dismantling power line supports to Russia on Monday
Lithuania is set to begin dismantling its power lines to Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave after the Baltic states connected their grids to the Continental European system in early February. Litgrid said on Thursday, the 20th of February, that workers will start removing the supports of the Kruonis Pumped Storage Plant (PSP)-Bitėnai power line next Monday, the 24th of February. Energy Minister Žygimantas Vaičiūnas and Litgrid CEO Rokas Masiulis will attend the launch of the dismantling work. After the Baltic states decoupled from the Russian power system on the 8th of February and synchronized with the European grid on the 9th of February, power lines to Russia and Belarus were no longer needed. Their wires were cut the day after synchronization. Of the 11 power lines that connected Lithuania to Belarus in recent years, only one remained operational before the disconnection, and three of the six lines to Kaliningrad were still in use.
Demining coalition in Vilnius discusses support for Ukraine
Vilnius, the Lithuanian Defence Ministry said, hosted the 11th meeting of the Demining Capability Coalition for Ukraine on Thursday, the 20th of February. Representatives of the year-old coalition discussed the countries’ commitment to supporting Ukraine in 2025-2026 and 2027-2030. The discussions also covered funding and equipment allocation, procurement, and training. According to Vaidotas Urbelis, the Defence Ministry’s Defence policy director, “as many as 40 representatives from 15 countries” attended the meeting. More than 700 million euros have been earmarked by the coalition for equipment purchases for Ukraine.
Lithuania up one notch to 34th place in ILGA-Europe’s LGBTIQ ranking
Lithuania ranks 34th out of 49 countries on this year’s Rainbow Map published by LGBTIQ rights organization ILGA-Europe, having gone up one notch from last year, with a score of 27.61%. Latvia and Estonia are ranked 37th and 21st respectively. Although Lithuania has moved up one notch, it remains towards the bottom of the European Union list, with only Italy, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania and Poland ranking below Lithuania. “So far, Lithuania has failed to adopt a law on the partnership, ban the mutilating “conversion” therapy, to prepare a plan of measures to ensure equality, and still restricts and fails to protect the rights of trans and non-binary people,” Martynas Norbutas, editor of GayLine.LT, an LGBTIQ rights website, said on Thursday, the 20th of February.
Klaipėda opens cruise season with Britain’s Ambience
Klaipėda kicked off this year’s cruise season as Ambience, a ship owned by Britain’s Ambassador Cruise Holidays, docked at the Lithuanian port’s cruise terminal on Thursday, the 20th of February. Throughout the season, which runs until mid-October, 63 cruise ships are expected to visit the Lithuanian port city, 19% more than in 2024, to the Klaipėda State Seaport Authority said in a press release. Ambiance brought nearly 1 300 passengers to Klaipėda, most of them British. According to the press release, the ship was built in 1991 and modernized in 2022, featuring the latest ballast and wastewater treatment systems. It mainly sails routes across Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea, the Norwegian fjords, and the British Isles. Nearly 40% of the cruise ships expected in Klaipėda this year are over 290 meters long. Klaipėda welcomed 63 000 passengers on 53 cruise ships last year.
Court starts examining ministry’s 241-million-euro lawsuit against France’s Veolia
The Vilnius Regional Court started on Wednesday, the 19th of February, examining on the merits the Energy Ministry’s lawsuit against France’s energy group Veolia, its subsidiaries, and related individuals for 240.7 million euros in damages. This follows last year’s ruling by the Lithuanian Supreme Court that the lawsuit must be heard without waiting for a final decision from the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington. The court decided that the hearings would be public, rejecting a request from Veolia and other defendants to hold the proceedings behind closed doors. The ICSID is examining a case brought by Veolia against Lithuania in 2016, in which the company is seeking 79 million euros in damages for its investments in Vilnius’ district heating system.
Ex-Trump advisor says US rotational force will stay
Despite the new US administration’s changing attitude towards Europe, Lithuania can be confident about the presence of American troops in the country, Herbert Raymond McMaster, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, said at the Vilnius Security Forum at the Lithuanian Seimas on Wednesday, the 19th of February. Speaking earlier this week, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said there were no indications that the United States is preparing to withdraw American troops from the Baltic states. Citing unnamed sources, the Financial Times on Monday, the 19th of February, that European officials believe US President Donald Trump will likely agree to withdraw troops from the Baltic states and possibly further west, making the EU more vulnerable to the Russian army, which NATO governments warn is preparing for a larger conflict beyond Ukraine.
President says “too early” to make decisions on sending troops to Ukraine
President Gitanas Nausėda said on Tuesday, the 18th of February, it is too early to make any decisions on sending troops to Ukraine. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had said he was ready to consider deploying a British peacekeeping force to maintain peace. French President Emmanuel Macron told a regional newspaper on Tuesday that while Paris “was not “preparing to send ground troops, which are belligerent to the conflict, to the front” in Ukraine but was considering, with its ally Britain, sending “experts or even troops in limited terms, outside any conflict zone”. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that discussions on sending peacekeepers to Ukraine are “entirely premature”.
Government creates “red tape” reduction commission
The Lithuanian government decided on Tuesday, the 18th of February, to set up a commission aimed at reducing red tape. The new body will be named the Commission for Eliminating Excessive Requirements for Businesses and will be chaired by the prime minister. The Cabinet supported Economy and Innovation Minister Lukas Savickas’ proposal to include ministers in the commission. Paluckas unveiled the initiative to create the red tape reduction commission last year following the announcement by Arvydas Paukštys, owner of Teltonika, that the high-tech company was halting the construction of the Teltonika High-Tech Hill Park in Vilnius due to bureaucratic hurdles.
Prosecutor seeks 10-year jail sentence for ex-MP for sexual crimes
The public prosecutor is seeking a ten-year prison sentence for former MP Kristijonas Bartoševičius for sexual crimes against minors. Prosecutor Donatas Skrebiškis told reporters after a hearing at the Panevėžys Regional Court on Tuesday, the 18th of February. Bartoševičius has been charged with ten criminal offenses: two counts of sexually abusing a young child and a minor, four counts of molesting a person under 16, and four counts of causing minor health impairment. The ex-MP and his lawyer, Olegas Sibkovas, participated remotely. The Defence lawyer is scheduled to deliver his closing argument at the next hearing on the 13th of April. The court has accepted three civil claims filed by the victims.
PM says Lithuania could borrow up to three billion euros from EIB
The European Investment Bank could lend Lithuania 2-3 billion euros shortly for infrastructure projects, including military ones, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas said on Monday, the 17th of February, adding that EIB loans would allow Lithuania to spend more of its own and borrowed funds on the acquisition of weaponry. He said Lithuania could expect between two and three billion euros worth of investments into all infrastructure projects over the next period. Lithuania had applied to the EIB for funding for the construction of a permanent 5 000-person German military base in Rūdininkai.