Last week, Lithuania agreed with three countries on an air defence rotation; Lithuanian MEP adjusted his vote on Ukraine loan
15min media group places 16-million-euro bond
Lithuanian-owned media and digital business group 15min Group announced on Friday, the 25th of October, that it has successfully placed a two-year 16-million-euro bond issue at an annual interest rate of 9.8%. This marks the first time in the Baltic markets that a media company has publicly offered a bond issue of this size and the first time that a Lithuanian-owned media business has done so. 15min Group CEO Tomas Balžekas said in a statement that the financing will allow us to further grow the groups’ value-based media business. Demand for the bonds totalled 18.2 million euros, with 713 investors participating. 15min will use the proceeds to refinance its acquisition of M-1 Group’s radio stations and to further invest in the development of digital media.
Lithuania turns away 29 migrants
Lithuanian border guards turned away 29 migrants over Thursday, the 24th of October, attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Friday, the 25th of October. A total of 773 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year. Almost 4 200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally in 2021. Lithuanian border guards have recorded almost 22 700 attempted illegal border crossings from Belarus since August 2021, when they were given the right to turn away irregular migrants.
Supreme Court reduces sentences for convicts in a high-profile corruption case
The Supreme Court of Lithuania on Thursday, the 24th of October, upheld the convictions of businessman Raimondas Kurlianskis, former Liberal leader Eligijus Masiulis, MP Vytautas Gapšys, and others implicated in the so-called MG Group political corruption case, but downgraded some of the charges and issued lighter sentences. The Supreme Court reduced Kurlianskis’ prison sentence by half a year, from six years to five and a half years, and cut his fine from almost 19 000 euros to nearly 17 000 euros. It shortened Gapšys’ prison term to four years and three months instead of the four and a half years handed down by the Court of Appeal. Sarunas Gustainis, a former member of the Liberal Movement, had his fine reduced from around 19 000 euros to some 15 000 euros. The fines imposed on the Liberal Movement and MG Group were also slightly adjusted, to almost 375 000 euros and 1.11 million euros, respectively. The sentences against Masiulis, former Liberal Gintaras Steponavičius and the Labor Party remain unchanged. Kurlianskis and MG Group, one of Lithuania’s largest business groups formerly known as MG Baltic, were convicted of bribing politicians and political parties to push through favourable decisions in the parliament.
Lithuania reaches deals with three countries for air defence rotations
At least three NATO allies are expected to send air defence systems to Lithuania as part of rotational deployments next year, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said on Thursday, the 24th of October. The minister previously said that NATO allies from Europe should deploy their capabilities in Lithuania and that the Netherlands would be one of these nations. NATO agreed on a rotational air defence model in the Baltic Sea region last year. The aim is to have allied air defence systems rotating in the Baltic states almost continuously. However, the Netherlands is the only country that has since brought Patriot long-range systems to Lithuania for several weeks for an exercise this past summer. The NATO summit in Washington in July agreed that rotational air defence in the Baltic Sea region should also be the responsibility of the Alliance’s military leadership, rather than just individual member states.
Government appoints new police, firefighter, public security service chiefs
The Lithuanian government on Wednesday, the 23rd of October, appointed new chiefs for the police, the Public Security Service (PSS), and the Fire and Rescue Department (FRD). As proposed by the Interior Ministry, Arūnas Paulauskas, interim head of the PSS, was appointed commissioner general of the police, Renatas Požėla, the outgoing police chief, was appointed as FRD director, and Viktoras Grabauskas, a former head of the police anti-terrorist operations unit Aras, as the new head of the PSS. The heads of all three bodies are appointed for a five-year term.
Lithuanian MEP changes his vote on Ukraine loan
After Lithuanian MEP Petras Gražulis voted against a multi-billion-euro loan to Ukraine and later asked to change his position, the European Parliament says his request will be recorded in the minutes but will have no impact on the final voting result, the European Parliament’s press office said on Wednesday, the 23rd of October. In the voting on the 22nd of October, Gražulis was the only Lithuanian MEP who voted against the 35-billion-euro loan for Ukraine, which is to be repaid with future revenue from frozen Russian assets in the West. The MEP described his vote as a human error, saying he thought he was voting on individual amendments, not the whole package. This loan is part of a G7 package, agreed last June, to provide about 45 billion euros in financial support to Ukraine.
Two more men lose citizenship for fighting on Russian side against Ukraine
Two more Lithuanians fighting on the Russian side against Ukraine have been stripped of their citizenship. According to a decision on Wednesday, the 23rd of October, by Interior Minister Agne Bilotaitė, Lithuanian citizenship has been taken away from Vitalijus Kazakevičius, born in 1984, and Juozas Samuolis, born in 1978. The men, both born in Lithuania, were deprived of their citizenship based on information from special services indicating that they may be serving in the Russian army. The Migration department was unable to reach these men through official channels, but the Law on Citizenship allows the revocation of citizenship if a person serves in the military of another state without the government’s permission.
Revolut Bank to provide home loans next year
Revolut Bank, part of the UK financial services group Revolut, plans to start providing home loans in Lithuania next year, the Verslo Žinios business news website reported on Wednesday, the 23rd of October. The bank, which is licensed in Lithuania but operates across Europe, plans to begin testing the service soon and will later begin to offer home loans in other European markets.
IMF keeps Lithuania’s GDP growth forecasts unchanged
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has left unchanged its forecasts for Lithuania’s economy and continues to project that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 2.4% this year and by 2.6% next year. At the same time, the pace of price growth in Lithuania this year will be slower than expected in the summer, with average annual inflation expected to reach 0.9 % (vs 1.2% projected in the summer) before accelerating to 2.4% (2.3%) next year, the central Bank of Lithuania reported citing the IMF’s latest forecasts for Lithuania and the global economy published on Tuesday, the 22nd of October. Gediminas Simkus, Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, said that the country’s economy was gradually gaining momentum, having demonstrated exceptional resilience in the face of various external shocks, including the price surge caused by the war in Ukraine.
Telia Lithuania lays off first 100 employees
Telia Lithuania said on Monday, the 21st of October, it is laying off 102 employees out of the 200 planned to be made redundant. The integrated telecommunications company notified the Employment Service of the layoffs on the 14th of October. Telia Lithuania said in early September that Sweden’s Telia Company was set to lay off around 400 employees in Lithuania as part of the streamlining of its operating model, with the other 200 redundancies planned for Telia Global Services Lithuania.