Defence
Month: February 2015
Opinion
Opinion: Is “Independence”, Lithuania’s national pride, safe or an easy target?
The Lithuanian authorities have just blurted out a major state secret: the round-the-clock surveillance of “Independence”, a floating liquefied natural gas storage and regasification unit in the seaport of Klaipėda, a guarantor of the country’s energy security and national pride, might be insufficient and, disturbingly, flawed. […]
Freetime
A week in Vilnius: 4–10 February
Here’s a week full of recommendations of how to spend your free time in Vilnius. Music, art, gastronomy, bar-hopping, cinema and sports – but please, don’t try to experience everything at the same time. […]
Economy
Lithuanian finance minister says no reason to panic over euro
Lithuanian minister of finance sees no reasons to panic over a possible decline in trade or stalling of economic development after the country’s adoption of the euro. […]
Economy
Lithuania is negotiating with Japan over export of beef
It should become clear in the nearest future if beef from Lithuania may be exported to Japan. Japanese experts are scheduled to visit Lithuania in early May to ascertain that Lithuanian livestock is healthy and meat is of high quality. The State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT) started cooperating with Japanese institutions last year, looking for new markets for the country’s food product exporters. […]
Energy
Energy minister slams Vilnius heat provider for inflating heating costs
Lithuanian Energy Minister Rokas Masiulis says he cannot tolerate the situation when municipal heat producer, Vilniaus Energija (Vilnius Energy) has been deliberately overpaying for gas for the second month in a row, thus increasing heating bills for consumers. Due to such actions of heat providers, Vilnius residents and institutions lose around a million euros per month. […]
Defence
Czech Republic joins NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence in Vilnius
On 3 February, director of the NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (NATO ENSEC COE) Colonel Gintautas Bagdonas and deputy director-general of the Office for Foreign Relations and Information of the Czech Republic Jan Padourek signed a voluntary national contribution arrangement which will serve as a basis for the Czech Republic to join the NATO ENSEC COE, the Ministry of National Defence informs. […]
European Union
Lithuanian MEP urges EU to declare Ukraine’s pro-Russian forces terrorist organisations
The group Friends of European Ukraine, established in the European Parliament by Lithuanian MEP Petras Auštrevičius, has urged the European Union to immediately declare the separatist groups that call themselves the people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as terrorist organisations. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian diplomats ask Norwegian authorities to allow to see child that was taken from mother
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway has promised Lithuanian Ambassador in Oslo Izolda Bričkovskienė to put every effort to officially confirm that a seven-year-old Lithuanian boy who was returned from Sweden is indeed in Norway. The boy’s mother attempted to take her son out of Norway, where the two lived. Swedish diplomats have said that Lithuania was not informed about the return of the child because his place of residence has not been declared in Lithuania. […]
Economy
Lithuania’s central bank begins discussions on more efficient cash management in country
The Bank of Lithuania, seeking to make the cash management system more efficient, prepared proposals on how to optimise cash management. They are presented in the public discussion document Reform of the Cash Supply System, the Bank of Lithuania announced. […]
European Union
Lithuania joins European Stability Mechanism
On 3 February, Lithuania became the 19th member of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Lithuania has ratified the ESM Treaty and now acquires the full rights and obligations of ESM membership. […]
Economy
Norway’s insurer Gjensidige to buy PZU Lithuania
Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige Forsikring ASA agreed to acquire 99.88 percent of the shares in PZU Lietuva from PZU SA for EUR 54 million. The Group’s market share in the Baltics will increase from 7 percent to 13 percent. The market share in Lithuania will increase from 7 percent to 21 percent, Gjensidige said in a press release. […]
Defence
Lithuania to step up artillery capacities, defence chief says
Lithuania’s Armed Forces should step up its artillery capacities by purchasing 155mm self-propelled howitzers, Chief of Defence Major General Jonas Vytautas Žukas said on Tuesday. […]
New terminal to connect Lithuanian and Swedish ports
Representatives of Central Terminal of Klaipėda, which was officially opened last summer, reached an agreement with the shipping company DFDS Seaways to form a new passenger-cargo (ro-pax) ferry line connecting the ports of Klaipėda and Sweden, Lithuania’s Ministry of Transport and Communications reports. […]
Politics
Betting companies predict election victory for incumbent Vilnius Mayor Zuokas
Some betting companies in Lithuania allow placing bets on the results of the upcoming mayoral elections in Vilnius. At the moment, incumbent Artūras Zuokas is thought to have the best chances of winning, while Julius Panka from the Lithuanian Nationalist Union has the slimmest chances. […]
Defence
Precision rifles bought from Belgium arrive in Lithuania
New Belgian-manufactured FN SCAR-H PR precision rifles were brought to Lithuania on Monday, the country’s Ministry of National Defence said. […]
Uncategorized
German-speaking experts sign petition on Ukraine: Securing peace instead of rewarding expansion
An appeal, by 142 German-speaking experts on Eastern Europe, calls for a reality-based and not illusions-guided Russia policy. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuania’s conservative propose Hague Tribunal prosecution for civilian attacks in Ukraine
The opposition Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats political group in the Lithuanian Seimas has proposed a resolution that would commit the Lithuanian parliament to seeking prosecution of people responsible for attacks on civilians in Ukraine in the Hague Tribunal. […]
Politics
Blinkevičiūtė most popular MEP with Lithuanian voters
Lithuanian Social Democrat MEP Vilija Blinkevičiūtė has been named the politician who best represents voters’ interests in the European Parliament, according to a recent survey. […]
Society
Lithuanian NGOs and Swedish Embassy cooperate to organize IDAHOT events
On 30 January 2015, the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL and the Swedish Embassy in Vilnius organized a meeting to discuss preparations for this year’s celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) in Lithuania. The meeting was hosted in the residence of the Swedish ambassador and attended by more than thirty ambassadors and representatives of the civil society. […]