Foreign affairs
Month: May 2015
Economy
Economic stumble did not halt growth of wages, economist says
Nerijus Mačiulis, chief economist at Swedbank Lithuania, says that although Lithuania’s economy contracted by 0.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, such an economic stumble nevertheless did not halt job creation or growth of wages: the number of employed people rose by 1.7 percent in a year, while an annual growth of average wages stood at 4.3 percent. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuania celebrates Independence Day of Georgia
On 26 May, at noon, school children at Vilnius Cathedral square held a giant Georgian flag, surrounded by Lithuanian flag in the shape of heart, to mark the Independence Day of Georgia. The event commemorated the 26 May 1918 adoption of the Act of Independence, which established the Democratic Republic of Georgia after the collapse of the Russian empire. […]
Society
Run in Klaipėda pays tribute to late British ambassador
“Hope Run 2015” in Klaipėda was dedicated to the memory of the first British ambassador to independent Lithuania Michael Peart. […]
Society
Lithuania among worst countries for migrants
Lithuania ranks 34th out of 38 countries in terms of conditions for migrants, according to the annual Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX 2015). […]
Defence
Army should not be rescuing civilians, Lithuanian president’s adviser says
Civilian rescue operations should be coordinated by a separate crisis management centre and not by the army, says Kęstutis Budrys, the president’s adviser on national security issues. […]
Opinion
Opinion: Lithuania does not invest into its most important ally
A visit several weeks ago by Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO and currently the head of the McCain Institute, would have gone unnoticed by the Lithuanian public, if it weren’t for a few media interviews. And even if it was noticed, many must have thought it of little consequence. […]
Uncategorized
Estonians have no regard for business ethics, survey suggests
A fresh study by Ernst & Young on corruption and fraud risk shows that only 23 percent of Estonia‘s managers and employees think that the principles of business ethics in their company are good, and one-fifth of respondents believe that corruption is widespread in Estonia, Aripaev Online reports. […]
Defence
Eighty percent of volunteers fit for military service
Minister of National Defence Juozas Olekas announced that 1,561 volunteers have signed up for service in the Lithuanian army by Monday morning, 25 May, and that the health commission examined the 500 of them. […]
Economy
Vilnius to scrap municipal taxi company
Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius says that the municipality will comply with the decision of the Competition Council and exit taxi business, divesting itself of the taxi company Vilnius Veža created by the previous mayor. It is yet unclear what procedure will be applied to the company. […]
Economy
Investors confident about Lithuanian economy, but low demand a concern
In the second quarter of 2015 Investors’ Confidence in Lithuania’s economic prospects grew significantly – CEOs of companies investing in Lithuania expect further positive changes in business environment. […]
Sports
Roland Garros: Berankis is going home
Lithuanian tennis player, Ričardas Berankis, lost three straight sets on the opening day of the Roland Garros tennis tournament in Paris. […]
Uncategorized
Duma speaker says Russia wants “normal relations” with Baltic states
Featured last night on the LTV1 news magazine De facto was Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin, who said that Russia wanted “normal relations with the Baltic States, and to revive the dialogue”. […]
Politics
Education minister candidate rejects post
Edmundas Vaitekūnas, the chairman of the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK), who was delegated by the Labour Party to assume the post of the education and science minister, has refused to stand as a candidate, Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius confirmed on Monday. The PM says that a new candidate has already been nominated. […]
Economy
Vilnius to spend money to attract airlines
Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius says the Lithuanian capital in essence remains without roundtrip flights after airline Air Lituanica terminated its operations. A special flight promotion fund should be created in order to attract new air carriers to Vilnius. […]
Society
Lithuania in talks with Dutch company on salvaging An-2
Lithuania is holding talks with a Dutch company on salvaging the An-2 plane that crashed in the Baltic Sea on May 16, killing two pilots. […]
European Union
Seimas committee chair: Lithuania expected more from Eastern Partnership summit
Lithuania had expected more from last week’s EU Eastern Partnership summit, says Benediktas Juodka, chairman of the Lithuanian Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs. […]
Defence
NATO jets took off from Lithuania twice last week to accompany Russian planes
Fighter jets conducting the NATO Baltic air policing mission were scrambled twice last week to intercept a Russian military aircraft flying in the international airspace over the Baltic Sea between mainland Russia and its region of Kaliningrad, Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence said on Monday. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian politicians congratulate Andrzej Duda on victory in Poland
Lithuanian politicians have congratulated Andrzej Duda, who has claimed victory in Sunday’s run-offs of the Polish presidential election, and expect for improvement in Lithuanian-Polish relations. […]
Defence
Five foreign soldiers get metal poisoning during training in Lithuania
Five foreign troops got heavy metal fume poisoning during a training event held by the Lithuanian army on Monday, the country’s Ministry of National Defence said. They are being treated at Kaunas Clinics. […]