Foreign affairs
Year: 2016
Uncategorized
Obama tells Putin to respect Ukraine ceasefire agreement
United States President Barack Obama told Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with whom he spoke on the phone on Monday, that Moscow must respect the Minsk agreements of ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, the White House said. […]
Society
PM accuses teachers’ unions of ties with Russia, refuses to go into detail
As teachers across Lithuania continue a strike, demanding higher wages, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius claims trade unions behind the strike are “influenced by Russia“. […]
Politics
Social Democrat Juras Požela proposed for healthcare minister
The Board of the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania decided on Monday to nominate Juras Požela, 33, for the position of healthcare minister, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius, Social Democratic leader, told journalists after the meeting. […]
CORPORATE
CORPORATE
Radical transformation of education system ‘one of five key steps to narrowing Lithuania’s wage gap with EU’
A radical transformation of the education system in Lithuania is needed to narrow the wage gap between Lithuania and other European countries, according to Rokas Grajauskas, chief economist for the Baltic countries at Danske Bank, writing in Lietuvos Žinios. […]
Society
Lithuanian doctors perform first surgery on rare tumour
A medical team at Santariškės Hospital for the first time identified and operated on a very rare tumour which was found in a 25 year-old patient. There have been only a few such cases in the world. […]
CORPORATE
Rail Baltica project hindered by chill in Vilnius-Warsaw relations
Relations between Lithuania and Poland have been chilly for some time now and experts say that the delay in works on the 200km Rail Baltica stretch between Warsaw and Šeštokai are a reflection of that state of affairs. […]
CORPORATE
Shortage of IT specialists to hit 10,000 in Lithuania by 2020
IT specialists will continue to be the most sought-after employees in Lithuania to 2020 and beyond as skills shortages continue in the key sector. […]
CORPORATE
‘Pillow tax’ proposed for Vilnius to promote city tourism
The Social Democratic Party group on Vilnius Municipality Board have put forward a proposal to collect a pillow tax – a €1 charge for hotel accommodation – which would begin to take effect from 2017. […]
CORPORATE
Environment and agriculture ministers’ jobs under threat if caught lying to PM
The ministers of environment and agriculture will have to go if they are caught lying about investigations they are currently subject to, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius has suggested on Monday evening after meeting with the president. […]
Politics
Teachers’ wage dispute causes government rift as Social Democrats accuse Labour Party of deceit
On Tuesday, the Social Democratic party will hold a political council meeting to ascertain whether the Labour Party supports the Government’s decisions regarding teachers’ wages and the social model being considered by the Seimas (parliament). […]
Economy
Employers cannot ban employees from working at competing firm, Supreme Court rules
Employers have no right to include non-compete clauses into employment contracts without additional compensation as that would limit a person’s constitutional right to freely choose occupation, Lithuania’s Supreme Court has ruled. […]
Energy
Baltic grid synchronization plan expected by summer, EC vice-president says
The European Union’s (EU) researchers will draw up proposals by summer identifying the best ways to synchronize electricity grids of the Baltic countries and Western Europe, Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission’s Vice-President for the Energy Union, has said while on a visit to Lithuania. […]
CORPORATE
Uncategorized
Rally in Latvia protests airing of BBC’s dramatization of World War Three
The BBC’s documentary about a hypothetical invasion of the Baltic States by Russia has sparked a protest in Latvia, with about 80 people staging a rally against the airing of the programme they said demonized the country’s Russian-speaking population and was pro-war “propaganda” paid for by the United States. […]
Uncategorized
Putin congratulates Estonia on its independence
Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves on Estonia’s day of independence. […]
European Union
Schengen zone collapse could cost EU up to €1.4 trillion
A collapse of Schengen zone could cost the European Union’s economy as much as €1.4 trillion over the next decade, according to a new study. […]
Energy
Grybauskaitė encourages EU to take action on Belarus nuclear power plant
The safety of the Astravyets nuclear power plant that Belarus is building near the border with Lithuania should be a matter of concern for the entire European Union, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė has said, calling on the EU to seriously consider restricting the import of electricity generated by that facility to the EU market. […]
Uncategorized
‘Lack of Ukraine reform could lead EU to lift Russian sanctions’ – EU ambassador
Ukraine‘s lack of progress on reforms may lead the EU to lean towards rejecting an extension of sanctions on Russia, according to the European Union‘s Ambassador to Russia, Vygaudas Ušackas. […]