Last week, the top news in Lithuania were Lithuania calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine, the opinion of the Bank of Lithuania on the current economic situation and businesses asking for help.
Teltonika to invest 30 million into Vilnius tech park
Teltonika IoT Group, a fast-growing manufacturer of vehicle tracking and control systems, owned by Arvydas Paukštys, will invest 30 million euros into a technology park in Vilnius and will hire 200 people, it said on Monday, March 14. Lithuania’s Ministry of the Economy and Innovation has signed a major investor agreement with the group that will set up the High-Tech Hill technology park on Liepkalnis Street in the capital within three to four months. It will create at least 200 new jobs. Around 95 percent of the new production facility’s products will be exported. The group announced plans earlier to invest more than 3.7 billion euros into semiconductor and high-tech design and manufacturing over the upcoming decade.
Lithuania’s CB to revise growth forecasts
Following war in Ukraine, the central Bank of Lithuania will revise the existing growth forecasts for this year, its board chairman Gediminas Šimkus has confirmed, adding that new estimates will be released on March 22. Inflation is now being affected by changes in the international environment, the central banker said. Annual inflation in Lithuania reached 14.2 percent in February, according to CB. In December, the bank of Lithuania estimated that the country’s GDP would expand 3.6 percent in 2022. In January, the European Commission cut its GDP forecast for Lithuania 3.4 percent for 2022, while Swedbank and SEB banks slashed theirs to 3.2 percent and 3.5 respectively.
Sanction-hit fertiliser maker Lifosa asks for state help
Lithuania’s phosphate fertiliser manufacturer Lifosa has asked for the state’s help, saying it is unable to meet its obligations because of EU sanctions against its indirect owner. The company in Kedainiai, in central Lithuania, employs more than 1,000 people. With its accounts blocked, Lifosa cannot make labour-related payments to its employees, and pay social security contributions and other employment taxes, and pay for services necessary for its operations. Lifosa’s accounts were frozen after Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko, its indirect owner, was placed on the EU sanction list. The Lithuanian company is 100 percent owned by Swiss-registered Eurochem Group, in which AIM Capital, a Cyprus-registered firm of Melnichenko, holds a 90 percent stake.
Lithuanian seaport included in new MSC route
Global shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has included the seaport of Klaipėda in its maritime route connecting Lithuania with Latin America. The route will link Klaipėda directly with ports in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia and other countries, with the first ship on the route expected to arrive in the port on March 16, the Klaipėda Port Authority said on Tuesday, March 15. Last July, MSC included the Lithuanian seaport in its route linking Western Europe with India and Pakistan. Terminal Investment Limited, a company owned by MSC, controls Klaipėdos Smeltė, a major stevedoring company in Klaipeda. Container (TEU) loadings in Klaipeda surged by almost 31 percent in January year-on-year, the highest increase among ports on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.
Lithuania proposes establishing tribunal for Russia, Belarus
Lithuania’s Justice Ministry has proposed setting up a special tribunal in the European Union to ensure criminal liability of Russian and Belarusian leaders for the aggression in Ukraine, the ministry said on Tuesday, March 15. Justice Minister Evelina Dobrovolska sent an official letter on the matter to EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and the justice ministers of EU member states. The idea of establishing a tribunal was proposed to the international community by the Ukrainian government, as well as by the scientific and legal communities.
Read also: Day 23 of war in Ukraine: Air strike on Lviv, Russia searches for opponents in occupied territories, plans «referendums»
Lithuania’s EU Commissioner Sinkevicius visits Ukraine
Lithuania’s delegated EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius visited Ukraine on Tuesday, March 15. Sinkevičius is the first member of the European Commission to visit Ukraine since Russia attacked the country in late February. The EU commissioner met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets, Governor of the Lviv Region Maksym Kozytskyi, and Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. Issues being discussed during his visit included the humanitarian situation in the country and the EU’s support, Ukraine’s application for EU membership, as well as environmental issues, including nuclear safety, and the Chernobyl and Zaporizhia nuclear power plants under the control of the Russian military.
Lithuanian parliament calls for no-fly zone over Ukraine
The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday, March 17 unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a no-fly zone over Ukraine. The resolution urges the United Nations to take immediate action to secure a no-fly zone over Ukraine to stop mass civilian deaths. The document calls on parliaments of democratic countries to work towards the opening of humanitarian corridors on Ukrainian territory while technical measures to enforce a no-fly zone are being prepared. This could be done by using the United Nation’s mechanism or by creating a coalition of willing and able states to ensure the safe passage of civilians from the war zones and territories illegally occupied and controlled by Russia, according to the resolution. The document also urges the EU to grant Ukraine candidate status and start the negotiation process.
Lithuania temporarily cuts VAT on district heating to zero
The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday, March 17, approved a temporary zero VAT rate on district heating for households. The amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax passed with 112 votes in favour, none against and nine abstentions. The Finance Ministry estimates that the state will lose 23.3 million euros in budget revenue because of the measure.
Lithuania reports 5,384 new COVID-19 cases, 7 deaths
Lithuania recorded 5,384 new coronavirus infections and seven deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, Statistics Lithuania announced on Friday, March 18. Some 4,524 of the new cases were primary, 852 were secondary and eight were tertiary. Over 985,000 people in Lithuania have contracted the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, and the death toll has reached around 8,700. Some 69.7 percent of the Lithuanian population have received at least one jab so far. Four of the latest fatalities were not vaccinated.
Week in Lithuania: Seimas supports no-fly zone over Ukraine, Bank of Lithuania to revise growth forecast
