Last week, Lithuania suspended language requirement for Ukrainian refugees for another year; Government green-lit closure of another two border checkpoints
Vilnius loses competition to host EU anti-money laundering agency
The European Union’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will be based in Frankfurt, which beat off competition from eight other contenders including Vilnius. Apart from Frankfurt and Vilnius, seven other cities – Brussels, Dublin, Madrid, Paris, Riga, Rome and Vienna – bid to host the new anti-money laundering body. Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė posted on Facebook on Thursday, the 22nd of February, that Vilnius came third in the EU Council vote, behind Frankfurt and Paris. “In the race for the seat of AMLA, Lithuania, which proposed Vilnius as the best city to host it, came a respectable third out of nine contenders in the Council’s vote,” she wrote. It was a great opportunity to showcase Lithuania as a fintech and compliance hub, according to the minister.
Prosecutor asks court to extend investor arrest warrant for a month
European Delegated Prosecutor Darius Karčinskas on Thursday, the 22nd of February, asked a Vilnius court to extend its arrest warrant for Sarunas Stepukonis, a former BaltCap Infrastructure Fund (BInF) partner suspected of having embezzled tens of millions of euros. Giedrius Janonis, spokesman for the Vilnius City District Court, confirmed that the prosecutor is asking to extend the arrest warrant, which is set to expire next Saturday, for another month. The court was to have a remote hearing on Friday, the 23rd of February. Stepukonis is suspected of having embezzled at least 27 million euros in BInF companies’ money. BaltCap officials say that around 40 million may have gone missing from the fund’s companies.
Top court accepts request to rule on LGBTIQ family concept ban
Lithuania’s Constitutional Court on Thursday, the 22nd of February, accepted the government’s request to express its opinion on a law provision that bans disseminating among minors information “that denigrates family values” and promotes the LGBTIQ family concept. Ministers turned to the court last week, and the move comes in response to the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling that Lithuania violated the rights of Neringa Macatė, a now deceased writer, by applying this provision. Last year, the government proposed that the Seimas remove the ban from the Law on the Protection of Minors from Negative Effects of Public Information, but the parliament rejected the initiative in November. Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska says ,even if the Constitutional Court decides that the provision does not contradict the Constitution, the court’s opinion could bring more clarity to the legal system and be used as guidance by institutions in making their decisions. The Strasbourg court ruled last year that Lithuania had violated the European Convention on Human Rights by restricting the publication of Macatė’s gay-themed Amber Heart.
Police fine volunteer, organizer of European Figure Skating Championships
Kaunas police on Wednesday, the 21st of February, fined Kaja Brile, a volunteer at the European Figure Skating Championships hosted by Lithuania’s second-biggest city in January, and Ervinas Kvitkauskas, a member of the organizing committee, for getting involved in a scuffle during the event. The police did not name the persons in their press release but said that administrative fines for a minor breach of public order had been imposed on a man born in 1987 and a woman born in 1991. As Kvitkauskas did not agree to the charge and Brile did not pay the fine, the case will be further investigated by the Administrative Offenses Investigation Division of the Kaunas County Police Headquarters. Kvitkauskas and Brile had been fined 15 euros each. Officials are not disclosing the exact circumstances of the incident. Police launched their investigation after Brile posted on Facebook that she had assaulted and pushed by Kvitkauskas, a journalist and one of the organizers of the championships.
Kempinski hotel in central Vilnius to be replaced by Hilton
The Grand Hotel Kempinski Vilnius located next to the capital’s central Cathedral Square will be replaced by Curio Collection by Hilton, an upscale hotel brand of Hilton, a leading global hospitality company, in May. Apex Alliance Hotel Management said on Wednesday, the 21st of February, it has been chosen as the operator of what will be the luxury brand’s first hotel in the Baltic countries. According to Marius Jakulis Jason, owner of the Grand Hotel Kempinski Vilnius, a franchise agreement has been signed with Hilton, which owns more than 7 500 hotels worldwide.
Lithuania to get 360-million-euro RRF loan in April
Lithuania is set to receive a 360-million-euro soft loan under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility in April. The country’s government had 387 million euros, but the funds will be disbursed on a pro-rata basis after deduction of the advance already made. In mid-December, Vilnius asked the European Commission for a 378-million-euro loan. The European Commission has positively assessed the first loan disbursement request under the updated Next Generation Lithuania plan, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday, the 20th of February. Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė says the funds will boost the country’s economic growth potential.
Lithuania suspends language requirement for Ukrainian refugees for another year
The government on Tuesday, the 20th of February, suspended the Lithuanian language requirement for Ukrainian refugees working in the country for another year. It extended the period during which “the categories of proficiency in the state language shall not apply to the employment of foreign nationals under temporary protection in Lithuania” to three years after the granting of the status, from two years currently. The Cabinet also extended the temporary protection period for one year until March 2025. The Lithuanian Language Inspectorate informed politicians in mid-March 2023 that from March 2024, it would start checking the language proficiency of Ukrainian refugees working in the country. The language watchdog’s plans angered government officials. According to the Social Security and Labor Ministry, almost 30 000 Ukrainians have found jobs in Lithuania since the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Government approves closure of Lavoriškės, Raigardas checkpoints
The Lithuanian government decided to close the Lavoriškės, and Raigardas border checkpoints on the country’s border with Belarus as of the 1st of March, the government said on Tuesday, the 20th of February. Following their closure, only two border checkpoints – at Medininkai and Šalčininkai – will remain on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border after the Šumskas and Tverecius checkpoints were closed last summer. Ministers also backed the proposal to restrict the pick-up and drop-off of passengers at the Kena railway border checkpoint to tackle the problem of passengers on transit trains to Kaliningrad disembarking in Lithuania with documents issued by any EU member state for travel within the bloc. Moreover, the government decided to suspend the movement of pedestrians and cyclists via the Medininkai and Šalčininkai border checkpoints, and to gradually reduce the number of permits issued to Belarusian and Lithuanian carriers operating regular international bus passenger services.
Lithuania’s dispute with Veolia to be heard only after Washington arbitration ruling
The Energy Ministry’s lawsuit against French energy group Veolia, Icor and its affiliates – Andrius Janukonis, Linas Samuolis and ex-Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas – for 240.7 million euros in damages will be heard only after the final ruling of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, Lithuania’s Court of Appeal ruled on Monday, the 19th of February. The court says it has the Vilnius Regional Court’s ruling issued last year. In November, Lithuania’s Regional Court suspended the proceedings pending the outcome of disputes in the ICSID and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Arbitration. The latter already issued its ruling in late November. The ICSID is hearing Veolia’s case against the State of Lithuanian, initiated in 2016, where Veolia is demanding 79 million euros in damages for its investments in the Vilnius heating business.
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Week in Lithuania | Prosecutor seeks extension for Stepukonis’ arrest; Kempinski in Vilnius to be replaced by Hilton
