Last week, presidential candidate’s family-controlled firm accused of evading EU sanctions
Chernobyl nuclear disaster victims commemorated in Vilnius
Vilnius hosted on Friday, the 26th of April, a ceremony in memory of the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya’s office has said that the Vilnius-based Belarusian opposition leader and about ten representatives from foreign embassies laid flowers at the monument to the Mother of Chernobyl in the capital’s Sapiega Palace Park. The disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster in Ukraine occurred on the 26th of April, 1986. Initially, the Soviet leadership attempted to cover it up. Around 600 000 so-called “liquidators”, mostly military personnel, police officers, firefighters and civil servants, were sent by the Soviet government to Chernobyl with almost no protective equipment to help extinguish the reactor fire. Among them were residents of Lithuania.
MP broke his oath, violated Constitution
MP Remigijus Žemaitaitis broke his oath of office and grossly violated the Constitution with his statements about Jewish people, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday, the 25th of April. If Žemaitaitis does not resign as MP after the court’s ruling, the parliament should vote on stripping him of his mandate. At least 85 votes in the 141-member parliament would be required to pass the motion. The court ruled that with his remarks, Žemaitaitis “disregarded the imperative of fostering national concord, as enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution”, and, as a MP, failed to adhere to his oath and fulfil his duty to uphold the Constitution and laws. The court’s president could not say whether this is the first time in history that the Constitutional Court of a country has penalized someone for a Facebook post. Žemaitaitis is running for president in next month’s election.
A suspect of valuable book thieves in custody
One of the nine suspected members of a criminal gang believed to have stolen valuable 19th-century Russian classics from Vilnius University (VU) and libraries in other European countries has been held in custody in Lithuania since late 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on Thursday, the 25th of April. Europol said earlier on Thursday that with the recent arrests of four Georgian citizens, the number of suspects in custody has increased to nine. One of the arrests took place in Lithuania, according to the agency. Seventeen rare Russian books, worth around 440,000 euros in total, were stolen from VU Library in May 2023.
Lithuania to follow Poland on mobilising Ukrainian men abroad
Lithuania pledged on Thursday, the 25th of April, to follow in Poland’s footsteps when it comes to the conscription of military-age Ukrainian men living abroad, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas said. His comment came after Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh said Warsaw was ready to help Kyiv bring back military-age men. He says Poland might restrict social benefits for Ukrainians, the issuance of work permits and other documents. However, Ukrainians will not be detained and deported en masse, he pointed out. To encourage military-age men living abroad to return home, Ukraine has stopped issuing new passports to some of them.
Parliament extends national sanctions on Russians, Belarusians
As Russia continues its war in Ukraine, the Lithuanian parliament on Wednesday, the 24th of April, extended national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens for a year, but voted down proposals to impose new restrictions on Belarusians. The most significant new measure is a ban on importing agricultural products and feed originating in Russia or Belarus, with the specific list of prohibited products to be published by the government. The motion to extend the Law on Imposing Restrictive Measures Regarding the Military Aggression Against Ukraine was passed in a vote of 109 to two with eight abstentions. On Tuesday, the 23rd of April, the parliament also supported an amendment to revoke temporary residence permits for Russian and Belarusian nationals who intentionally, publicly and systematically spread false information contrary to public or state interests, or publicly support a crime of aggression recognized by UN documents or international courts. On Thursday, however, the amendment was taken out of the bill.
Presidential candidate’s family-controlled firm allegedly evaded EU sanctions
Vilpra, a heating system trading and installation group controlled by the family of Ignas Vegele, a presidential candidate, may have circumvented EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus by exporting air conditioners to Kyrgyzstan, according to an investigation carried out by the investigative journalism centre Siena (Wall) and its partners in Lithuania and Belarus. It was released on Wednesday, the 24th of April. Vilpra traded intensively with Kyrgyzstan between September 2022 and March 2023, exporting air conditioners worth about 940 000 euros to the Central Asian country during the period, according to data collected by Siena. The Lithuanian Customs Criminal Service confirmed to Siena that it blocked Vilpra’s shipment to Kyrgyzstan last summer as the company tried to resume exports to the country. Vilpra denied any attempt to dodge the EU’s sanctions. Vilpra CEO Martynas Vegele, the presidential candidate’s brother, dismissed the journalists’ investigation as politically motivated.
Lithuania approves bid to produce 730 000 tons of hydrogen by 2050
The Lithuanian government on Wednesday, the 24th of April, approved draft guidelines for the development of hydrogen in Lithuania in 2024-2050, drafted by the Energy Ministry, which aims to create a green hydrogen ecosystem and infrastructure, define the main directions of its development until 2050 and set the tasks until 2030. The guidelines include goal to install at least 1 300 MW of electrolysis equipment in the country by 2030, to produce 129 000 tons of hydrogen annually and to produce at least 41% of ammonium fertilizers from green hydrogen. By 2050, electrolysis capacity should reach 8 500 MW and clean fuel production should reach 732 000 tons, of which 44 000 tons could be exported.
Minister turns to prosecutors over President’s announcement on Volkov attacker
Lithuanian Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė turned on Tuesday, the 23rd of April, to the Prosecutor General’s Office following President Gitanas Nausėda’s public announcement last week that two people had been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov in Vilnius. Bilotaitė is asking prosecutors to look into whether Nausėda violated the law by sharing this information with the public. “I consider the president’s actions to be irresponsible communication that undermined the mutual trust between Lithuanian and Polish officials and could have also compromise the pre-trial investigation,” the minister said in a statement. Prosecutors are asked to assess whether the president’s actions constitute an unauthorised disclosure of pre-trial investigation data. Volkov, a close ally of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison earlier this year, was attacked in his car outside his home in the Lithuanian capital late on the 12th of March.
Seimas adopts amendments for Rheinmetall investments
Lithuanian lawmakers on Tuesday, the 23rd of April, created favourable conditions for major local and Western manufacturers, including German military giant Rheinmetall that plans to build a production facility in Lithuania, to build their factories more quickly and easily. Special conditions will apply to defence industry projects, allowing them to start operations more quickly as investors will be able to complete environmental impact assessment procedures and obtain construction permits before construction is completed. In all, 118 MPs voted in favour of such amendments, four voted against and one abstained. The Seimas also adopted amendments to several accompanying laws.
Lithuania’s PST granted 156 million-euro Ignalina N-plant repository contract
Panevėžio Statybos Trestas (PST), a leading Lithuanian construction company, said on Tuesday, the 23rd of April, it has signed a contract worth 156 million euros, including VAT, with the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) to build its repository for low and intermediate-level short-lived radioactive waste. Under the contract, the repository is to be built within 4.5 years, PST said in a statement. PST CEO Tomas Stukas described the repository construction as one of the company’s most responsible projects of significant for the whole of Lithuania. The repository will be built at the Stabatiškės site in Visaginas Municipality, next to other INPP radioactive waste management facilities, and will consist of three reinforced concrete modules capable of holding up to 100 000 cubic meters of final waste packages. The repository is planned to be filled with waste by 2038 and maintained for at least 300 years.
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Week in Lithuania | Top court rules MP violated Constitution; Minister alerts prosecutors on President’s statement on Volkov attacker
