Year: 2015
European Union
EC Vice-President Ansip to visit Vilnius
On 8 October, Thursday, European Commission Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip will come to Vilnius for an official working visit. […]
Culture
Kaunas works on application to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site
Kaunas Municipality is finishing an application to have parts of the city included into the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage, the municipality announced on Tuesday. […]
Politics
Online voting bill submitted to Lithuanian parliament
Lithuania’s Ministry of Justice submitted a bill on Tuesday that, if passed, would allow creating a system for online voting in elections and referenda. […]
Energy
Lithuanian PM: Russia demanding damages from Baltics for leaving BRELL only ‘interpretation’
Lithuania is moving from the post-Soviet to European electricity transmission system and Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says claims that Russia and Belarus will incur damages as a result are nothing but “interpretations”. The prime minister says Lithuania is not considering paying compensations to Russia and Belarus under the so-called BRELL treaty. […]
Society
Swedish royal couple to visit Vilnius University during Lithuania visit
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia will visit Vilnius University (VU) on 7-8 October. […]
European Union
Culture
Lithuanian schlager star Stasys Povilaitis passes away at 69
Famous Lithuanian singer and poet Stasys Povilaitis passed away in the morning of 6 October after a serious illness at the age of 69. […]
Economy
Teo acquires mobile operator Omnitel from TeliaSonera
IT and telecommunications company Teo is purchasing the Lithuanian mobile service provider Omnitel from its current shareholder TeliaSonera, Teo said in a statement. […]
Uncategorized
Russia’s actions in Syria lead to more chaos, Lithuanian president’s advisor says
Chief advisor to the Lithuanian president on foreign policy, Renaldas Vaisbrodas, says that Russia is not fighting ISIS in Syria, but is instead supporting President Bashar al-Assad‘s regime, which, he says, contradicts the goals of the international coalition fighting ISIS. […]
Foreign affairs
President Grybauskaitė says Swiss army ‘nice example’ for Lithuania
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, who is leaving for a visit to Switzerland on Tuesday, says that the Swiss army, which is based on military conscription, is a “nice example” for Lithuania. […]
Society
Lithuania among most rural EU countries
In 2014, 47.6 percent of Lithuania’s population lived in rural areas, while 42.9 percent – in densely populated areas (cities). 9.6 percent of residents lived in intermediate area, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), said. This makes Lithuania the third most rural country in the EU. […]
Economy
Vilnius Airport traffic will move to other cities in summer 2017
During the summer of 2017, from 14 July to 18 August, Vilnius Airport will be carrying out reconstruction of the runway. Aircrafts will not be landing in Vilnius and communication with Lithuania will be ensured through other air gateways, most of the airlines are planning to move their flights to Kaunas and Palanga for this period. […]
Politics
President says Lithuanian parliament should vote on prosecutor general candidate openly
After the Lithuanian parliament rejected two nominees for the post of prosecutor general, President Dalia Grybauskaitė says that MPs should vote on such nominations openly rather than in a secret ballot, as is currently the case. […]
Defence
200 Lithuanian troops to join NATO’s biggest exercise since 2002
Spain, Italy and Portugal are hosting NATO military exercise Trident Juncture 2015, which kicked off on Saturday. Some 200 soldiers from Lithuania and almost 50 units of military equipment will join NATO’s biggest wargames since 2002, the Ministry of National Defence reports. […]
Politics
Lithuanian political parties will need to meet tougher membership requirements
By 1 October, Lithuanian political parties had 118,813 members in total, according to data provided by 24 political parties to the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice. […]
Economy
Concerns about Lithuania’s budget deficit
After the Finance Ministry has submitted proposal for the 2016 state budget, which envisages a slightly bigger fiscal deficit than this year, the National Audit Office says this raises the risk for long-term sustainability of government finance. President Dalia Grybauskaitė warns that Lithuania might exceed the limit provided by the EU’s fiscal compact. […]
Economy
Problem for wheelchair users solved by Lithuanian disability products manufacturer
Dr. Eugene Emmer, owner of RehaDesign Wheelchair Accessories of Vilnius, Lithuania, recently announced the launch of ‘Wheelchair Socks’, an innovative cover for wheelchair casters, the small front wheels on wheelchairs. The launch of Wheelchair Socks comes after years of requests from wheelchair users. […]
Society
24 percent of Lithuanians approve same-sex marriage
Every fourth Lithuanian thinks that same-sex marriage should be legalized throughout the European Union, according to a Eurobarometer survey. This is well below the EU average, BNS reports. […]
Economy