Last week, opposition launched interpellation against Foreign minister; President signed laws ratifying Finnish, Swedish NATO accession
Taiwan’s parliament speaker starts his visit to Lithuania
You Si-kun, speaker of Taiwan’s parliament, started his visit to Lithuania on Thursday, 21 July, and met with Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen in central Vilnius on Thursday night. Neither President Gitanas Nausėda nor Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė are scheduled to meet with You Si-kun, the Lithuanian officials’ spokespeople say. Experts say the visit’s program and Taiwan’s rhetoric indicate that Vilnius and Taipei are avoiding official contacts so as not to anger China.
Lithuania joins Ukraine vs Russia case at ICJ
Lithuania on Friday, 22 July, formally joined Ukraine’s case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Lithuanian Justice Ministry said. Forty-three countries in Europe and beyond, as well as the European Union, which condemn Russia’s military aggression and its international crimes, have expressed their intention to intervene in the proceedings at the ICJ, according to the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice. Kyiv argues in the case that Russia cannot justify its military action on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations of genocide by the Ukrainian authorities in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the ministry said.
Palanga embeds demand on Baltic Sea wind farm’s 30-km distance
The authorities of Lithuania’s western resort of Palanga and the country government reached agreement on installing a wind farm in the Baltic Sea at least 30 km from the shore, not 9 km away as was considered before, Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said on his visit to Palanga on Thursday, 21 July. Palanga Mayor Šarūnas Vaitkus said on Thursday the local community was satisfied with the compromise as the wind farm would not be visible from the city. Under the agreement, once the park becomes operational, its developer will have to pay the municipality a fixed amount – around 3 million euros – from the electricity generated each year and the money will be used for the city’s needs. A tender for the project’s developer is expected to be called in late 2023 and the construction could start in 2025, with the farm projected to become operational in 2028, the minister said. The wind farm, he said, could cost around 1.5 billion euros, based on preliminary estimates. The capacity of Lithuania’s first wind park in the Baltic Sea is expected to stand at 700 MW and it is projected to generate up to 3 TWh of power, which would satisfy to a quarter of Lithuania’s needs.
Klaipėda is 4th among ports on eastern Baltic coast
Klaipėda ranked fourth among 12 ports on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea in terms of cargo volumes in the first half of this year, and came in second in terms of container handling volumes. Three Russian ports maintained their tonnage lead as Ust Luga handled 52.9 million tons (up 10 percent over a year), Primorsk handled 26.1 million tons (up 16 percent), and Saint Petersburg handled 21.4 million tons (down 30 percent). Klaipeda came in second in terms of container handling volumes as it handled 479 000 TEU, up 64.5 percent. Saint Petersburg handled 669 000 TEU (down 35.5 percent).
Construction of 1510-metre Rail Baltica railway bridge starts in Lithuania
Construction of a new Rail Baltica railway bridge, the longest of its kind in the Baltic countries, is getting underway in Lithuania’s central district of Jonava on Thursday 21 July. Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė says the bridge over the Neris River and the European standard-gauge railway as a whole will make all better connected to the rest of the European Union. Transport Minister Marius Skuodis said that in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Rail Baltica has become not only an economic project, but also a geopolitical one. Italy’s Rizzani de Ecche will build the bridge under a contract worth 64 million euros, not including VAT, signed with LTG Infra, the company responsible for the implementation of Rail Baltica in Lithuania, in April. The new 1 510-meter-long railway bridge over the Neris River near the town of Jonava is expected to be built in two and a half years.
Lithuania reports 1 111 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death
Lithuania has recorded 1 111 new coronavirus infections and one new death from COVID-19 over Wednesday, 20 July, official statistics showed on Thursday, 21 July. Some 850 of the new cases were primary, 250 were secondary and 11 were tertiary. The number of hospital patients now stands at 114, including eight ICU cases. The 14-day primary infection rate has risen to 349.6 cases per 100 000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests up to 46.9 percent. More than 1.1 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with Covid-19 at least once.
President signs laws ratifying Finnish, Swedish NATO accession
President Gitanas Nausėda on Wednesday, 20 July, signed the laws on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, thus finalising the ratification procedure in Lithuania. Nausėda described Finland and Sweden’s membership as an important step towards bolstering the security of the Baltic Sea region and NATO’s eastern flank. Earlier on Wednesday, the Lithuanian parliament ratified the protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of Sweden and Finland to the Alliance. The accession protocols will enter into force once all NATO member states have notified the US government of their approval. The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership in May, abandoning their longstanding policy of military non-alignment in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Lithuania can easily cut gas use by 15 percent
Lithuania would have no difficulty meeting the European Commission’s recommendation to reduce its natural gas consumption if there is a shortage of gas this coming winter, Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said on Wednesday, 20 July. Kreivys said Lithuania could replace gas used for heating in Vilnius with fuel oil, noting that businesses are cutting their gas use as well. According to the minister, Lithuania supports the Commission’s proposal to reduce natural gas consumption.
Opposition starts interpellation against Foreign minister
Opposition parliamentarians said on Tuesday, 19 July, they are initiating an interpellation motion against Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis over the situation regarding the transit of sanctioned Russian goods via Lithuania to Kaliningrad. Social Democratic MP Gintautas Paluckas said the parliamentary opposition are setting up a consultative group to write down the questions for the minister. According to the MP, it will take about a month to prepare the questions for Landsbergis. MP Dainius Gaižauskas of the opposition Farmers and Greens Union (LFGU) said his party would also support such a motion against Landsbergis.
Additional Moscow-Kaliningrad passenger train to cross Lithuania
An additional fourth passenger train from Russia to Kaliningrad will run through Lithuania from Thursday, Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LTG), the country’s state-owned railway company said on Monday, 18 July. The additional train will run three times a week and can carry up to 250 passengers.
Week in Lithuania: Taiwan’s parliament speaker visits Lithuania, construction of 1510 m Rail Baltica railway bridge starts
