Year: 2015

The remaining section of the NordBalt submarine cable has been manufactured in Karlskrona, Sweden, Litgrid informs. […]

Lithuanian president: Minsk pact fails to settle key border issue

The four-way negotiations in Minsk failed to settle the key issue on control of Ukraine‘s borders, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė says. […]

Lithuanian PM says fate of Green Bridge sculptures should be decided by specialists

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says that a decision to lift legal protection of the Soviet statues on the Green Bridge should be made only by specialists. He added, however, that a discussion on the issue is needed. […]

Vladimiras Putinas, Francois Hollande'as, Petro Porošenka, Angela Merkel

Minsk agreement: Devil’s in the details

February 12, 2015 Egle Samoskaite 0

After 14 hours of tough talks, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany have reached an agreement on what to do about situation in eastern Ukraine, where hostilities have already claimed over 5,400 lives. However, the leaders did not hold a customary joint press conference. […]

Soviet-era Vilnius Sports Palace to be reconstructed as congress centre

Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius said that Vilnius Concerts and Sports Palace, a currently abandoned modernist structure in central Vilnius, will become a modern congress centre by 2017. […]

Building national stadium could cost EUR 94 million, Lithuanian PM says

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says that constructing the National Stadium and Multifunctional Health, Education and Culture Centre may cost approximately EUR 94 million for Lithuania. It could take three years to complete the project under a public and private partnership. […]

Minister Linkevičius: We’ll see Sunday morning if agreement in Minsk means anything

It’s too early to speak about real progress in eastern Ukraine following the Minsk talks as it’s still not clear whether the agreements reached will be implemented, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius says, adding that no final decisions have been made on key issues. […]

Lithuanian banker fails to show up at extradition hearing in London court

Vladimir Antonov, former shareholder of Lithuania’s bankrupt bank Snoras, on Wednesday skipped a hearing of his extradition case at the High Court in London. […]

Vladimiras Putinas, Francois Hollande'as, Angela Merkel, Petro Porošenka

Lithuanian expert: Minsk talks outcome might be bad or very bad

The outcome of the ongoing talks in Minsk might be “bad” or “very bad”, says Laurynas Kasčiūnas, an analyst from the Vilnius-based Eastern Europe Studies Centre, commenting on the talks on the situation in eastern Ukraine that continue in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Thursday. […]

Nuclear Power Plant in Visaginas, Lithuania. Photo Credit Naoto Kurihara, Wikipedia

Shrinking modernism: the future of mono-industrial cities in the Baltics

Visaginas has undergone a radical transition from rapid growth under Soviet planning and mono-functional industrial development to dramatic shrinkage under a multilateral and multi-scalar competitive determination of resources and workplaces. […]

European Council to focus on European security issues

President Dalia Grybauskaitė has left for Brussels to attend an informal meeting of the European Council, the presidential press service said. […]

Rokas and Ieva with Denver businessman Darren Droge

Sun, smiles, and singing at the World Alpine Ski Championships in Colorado

February 12, 2015 Jennifer Virskus 0

“The first thing I noticed was how much people smile here, and they are so friendly!” laughed Ieva Januškevičiūtė. Januškevičiūtė, along with Rokas Zaveckas, are in Colorado this week for the FIS World Alpine Ski Championships at Vail-Beaver Creek. […]

Lithuania and US agree to sign new defence cooperation pact

The United States and Lithuania have agreed to sign a new agreement on defence cooperation as early as this year, Lithuania’s Ministry of National Defence said on Thursday. […]

Lithuanian foreign minister on Minsk talks: promises were broken before, why should this time be different

As four-way peace talks over the conflict in Ukraine have been ongoing in Minsk, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius believes the main task is to reach an agreement on the control of the international border between Ukraine and Russia. […]

Lithuania rises one spot in 2014 World Press Freedom Index

Lithuania has risen in the annual World Press Freedom Index by one notch to the 31st position among 180 countries. […]

EP decides to renew probe into CIA prisons, Lithuanian parliament to take it up in spring session

On Wednesday, the European Parliament decided to reopen the investigation into alleged CIA prisons in different European countries. MEPs have also urged the member-states to investigate the related suspicions and prosecute those responsible. […]

Lithuania makes progress in corruption prevention, according to GRECO report

In a report published on 11 February, the Council of Europe Anti-Corruption Group (GRECO) acknowledges the comprehensive legal and institutional framework developed by Lithuania to prevent and fight corruption among members of parliament, judges and prosecutors. It also stresses that the authorities now need to shift their focus to ensuring that the legal norms are well understood and properly enforced, GRECO said. […]

Lithuanian actress Aistė Diržiūtė receives European Shooting Stars award from Natalie Portman

Lithuanian young actress Aistė Diržiūtė is among a small group of recognized up-and-coming European performers who were honoured this year at the prestigious Berlinale Palast with the European Shooting Stars Award, the Lithuanian Film Centre informs. […]

Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian brigade might hold first exercises in autumn