Linas Jegelevičius
In Lithuania, the last week of the year brought various news – some happy news, others not-so-pleasant news, and along with thoughts about the creation of an army division, changes have also affected a school in Klaipeda.
Lithuania reports 471 new COVID-19 cases, one death
Lithuania recorded 471 new coronavirus infections and one death from COVID-19 over Thursday, 29th of December, the country’s public health authority, NVSC, reported on Friday, 30th of December. Of the new cases, 340 were primary, 120 were secondary and eleven were tertiary. The number of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 now stands at 155, including nine ICU cases. The 14-day primary infection rate has edged up to 174,2 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests up to 15,3 percent. The daily number of new coronavirus cases remains well below the peak of over 14,000 reached in early February. More than 1,2 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with COVID-19 at least once.
«For Lithuania» on top of Lithuania’s party rankings
The opposition Democratic Union «For Lithuania» has topped the country’s political party rankings, pushing the previous leader, the opposition Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), to the second place, according to a Baltijos Tyrimai poll published on Friday, 30th of December. Some 12,5 percent of respondents said in the latest poll that they would vote for «For Lithuania», led by former prime minister Saulius Skvernelis, if general elections were held next Sunday, up from 11.6 percent who said so in October. The LSDP came in second with 10,7 percent, down by 2 percentage points from 12,7 percent in October. The ruling Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats, led by Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, continued to rank third with 8,1 percent support, down from 11,3 percent. Further down the list is the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union with 7,5 percent (8,9 percent in October), the Liberal Movement, part of the ruling coalition, with 6,3 percent (5,4 percent in October), the opposition Freedom and Justice party with 5,7 percent (5,8 percent), and the Freedom Party, which is also part of the ruling coalition, with 2,5 percent (2,7 percent).
Monopoly watchdog slaps nearly 1 million euros in fines on RE agencies
The Lithuanian Competition Council announced on 29th of December, it has slapped 969,000 euros in fines on the Lithuanian Association of Real Estate Agencies (LNTAA) and its 39 members for agreeing not to solicit each other’s clients and brokers. Such an agreement restricted competition and infringed the Law on Competition as well as the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the watchdog said in a press release. The association was slapped with a fine of 4,500 euros, while the biggest fines were imposed on the following three agencies: Ober-Haus Nekilnojamas Turtas (450,600) euros, Inreal (124,700 euros), and Capital Realty (69,900 euros).
Law on intelligence ombudsperson in line with Constitution
Lawmakers have the power to set up independent specialized oversight bodies, and the institution of intelligence ombudsperson, created by the parliament last year, does not infringe the Seimas ombudspersons’ rights to investigate complaints, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday, 29th of December. According to the court, the activities of intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies and their officials must be subject to control and, given the non-public nature of their activities, the parliament may, if necessary, establish an independent specialised control body. The court also pointed out that the parliament has the power to lay out the powers of the Seimas ombudspersons. In its ruling, the Constitutional Court described as intolerable the situation where the intelligence bodies’ activities are not controlled by an independent oversight body, because the function has been taken away from the Seimas ombudspersons and the new office is not working yet.
Cabinet rejects proposal on electricity, gas tariffs for religious communities
The Lithuanian government on Thursday, 29th of December, rejected a proposal by a group of MPs to apply the same electricity and gas tariffs to religious communities as to household consumers. The government’s opinion on the proposed draft amendments to the Law on Electricity and the Law on Natural Gas will now be submitted to the parliament. The amendments would allow charging religious communities and associations purchasing electricity for the needs of their members and religious facilities the same electricity and gas tariffs as household consumers. The initiators say the aim is to reduce electricity and gas costs for religious communities and associations, which are not eligible for any electricity tariff concessions under the existing law. The Energy Ministry says, however, that the proposed amendments are broad and vague in their application, and the needs of religious communities and associations are not clearly defined.
Central bank raises 307,000 euros for Ukraine via collector coin
The Bank of Lithuania announced on Wednesday, 28th of December, it has raised over 307,000 euros for Ukraine through the sale of a ten-euro silver collector coin dedicated to the war-ravaged country’s fight for freedom. The central bank said that it has sold 4,391 coins out of a total mintage of 5,000 pieces. The total price of the coin is 96,8 euros, of which 70 euros is donated to support Ukraine. A total of 307,370 euros have been transferred to the National Bank of Ukraine’s account for humanitarian aid, according to the press release. The coin was designed by Svitlana Matvieienko, a Ukrainian artist. The centre of the obverse of the coin features an image of the embroidered, stylised symbols of the coats of arms: the Vytis of Lithuania and the Tryzub (Trident) of Ukraine.
Klaipeda set to rename Russian-speaking school
The Klaipeda City Council decided on Tuesday, 27th of December, to rename the city’s Russian-speaking Maxim Gorky Progymnasium to Uostamiesčio (Port City) Progymnasium. The move was prompted by the escalating geopolitical situation due to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The school was named after the famous Russian writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries back in 1945. Seventy percent of the school’s students and their parents, and teachers said in October that they wanted the name changed.
Ignalina N-plant to clean up its industrial waste landfill
Lithuania’s shut-down Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP) is getting ready to clean up its industrial waste landfill, which has accumulated nearly 31,000 cubic meters of waste over a period of 30 years, as part of the nuclear facility’s decommissioning process, the INPP said on Tuesday, 27th of December. INPP specialists are currently implementing a project that will see the industrial waste landfill transformed into a regular waste dump. Mixed construction and demolition wastes, various packaging, out-of-use parts of equipment, and biodegradable wastes were dumped at the industrial waste landfill between 1985 and 2015. The clean-up project is being financed under the 2014-2021 Norwegian Financial Mechanism. Lithuania shut down the first RBMK-type reactor of the Soviet-era facility in late 2004 and closed the second unit at the end of 2009.
Lithuania mulls forming army division
Lithuania mulls forming an army division, Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said on Tuesday, 27th of December, adding that such ambitions are facilitated by acquisition of division-level weapons, such as rocket artillery systems HIMARS. An army division is usually made up of several brigades and includes 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. Some 11,500 professional soldiers, almost 3,500 conscript soldiers, and nearly 5,400 volunteer soldiers serve in the Lithuanian Armed Forces at present.
Week in Lithuania: watchdog slaps fines on real estate agencies, bank raises 307,000 euros for Ukraine
