Society
Court upholds Soviet officer’s acquittal in war crime case
Lithuania’s Court of Appeals has rejected prosecutors’ appeal against the acquittal of a former Soviet militia officer in a war crime case. […]
Articles by BNS
European Union
Brexit is bigger challenge for EU than refugees, Lithuanian MP says
Britain’s planned referendum on quitting the European Union is a bigger challenge to the EU than the migration crisis, says Gediminas Kirkilas, the chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s European Affairs Committee, after meeting with his Baltic and Polish counterparts. […]
Economy
Court rejects €19m overcharge claim from Vilniaus Energija on gas
Vilniaus Energija, the Lithuanian energy company owned by France’s Veolia (formerly Dalkia), has failed to convince a court that it should be reimbursed €19 million it overpaid for Gazprom gas. […]
CORPORATE
New deal with Statoil to cut gas price by third
Lithuania’s gas company Litgas has concluded negotiations with Norway’s Statoil to review it’s five-year liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract, substantially cutting maintenance costs of Lithuania’s LNG terminal and the price for gas consumers, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says. […]
Economy
Maxima owners to take shareholders’ dispute to Luxembourg court
Lithuanian businessman Mindaugas Marcinkevičius, a minority shareholder in the company that operates the country’s biggest grocery chain Maxima, is to go to the Luxembourg courts to contest a €90-million loan at below-market interest rates that the company extended to Luxembourg-registered businesses owned by another shareholder. […]
Economy
Lithuania begins blocking international betting websites
Lithuania has begun blocking access to the websites of some foreign online betting companies after tightening controls on online gaming operators at the start of this year. […]
Energy
Gas prices to be ‘slightly lower’ under new LNG deal with Statoil
Litgas, the gas trading arm of the state-owned energy group Lietuvos Energija, will sign a renewed liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply contract with Norway‘s Statoil on Monday. […]
Energy
Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline ‘aimed at dividing Europe’
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which Russia plans to build across the Baltic Sea, is economically unsound and is a political project aimed at dividing European Union countries, said Lithuania’s President, Dalia Grybauskaite. […]
Energy
Lithuanian government must halt Belarus nuclear plant, say former heads of state
Two former Lithuanian leaders – ex-president Valdas Adamkus and the country’s first post-independence leader Vytautas Landsbergis – have urged the government “to do everything in its power to immediately halt the construction of the Astravyets nuclear power plant” in Belarus some 50 km east of Vilnius. […]
Opinion
Opinion: Managing refugee crisis and main risks
Discussions about the refugee crisis and how to solve it has moved from the European Union to the United Nations General Assembly, where most national leaders spoke about settling the conflicts in Syria and Iraq and fighting international terrorism. Among the highlights were the speeches and meeting of the presidents of the United States and Russia. […]
Politics
Lithuania’s conservatives suggest abolishing secret voting in parliament
Jurgis Razma, a member of the opposition Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, has proposed abolishing secret voting in the Seimas of Lithuania, except for secret votes of non-confidence provided for by the Constitution. […]
Economy
Lithuanian social insurance fund’s deficit to narrow 48 percent in 2016
The gap between revenue and expenditure of Lithuania’s State Social Insurance Fund, the Sodra, next year is expected to narrow by around 48 percent to 95.494 million euros, according to its draft 2016 budget. […]
Foreign affairs
Culture
US director makes documentary about Hill of Witches in Lithuania
US director Frank Barn is shooting a documentary film about the Hill of Witches on Lithuania’s picturesque Curonian Spit, with plans to present the movie at the international festival, The BEA Festival of Media Arts. […]
Economy
European Commission criticizes Lithuania for poor VAT collection
The level of VAT revenue collected in Lithuania is well below that which could be collected, the European Commission has said. […]
Society
Foreign affairs
Lithuanian diplomat awarded prestigious Palmer Prize in New York
Lithuania’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Petras Vaitiekūnas, has received the Community of Democracies’ Mark Palmer Prize, which is awarded to diplomats for their merits in advancing democracy and peace in the world, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. […]
Society
Politics
Defence
Military equipment from Belgium and Luxembourg arrives in Lithuania
Military equipment from Belgium and Luxembourg arrived in Lithuania’s port city of Klaipėda on Tuesday for use at the Baltic Piranha war games that will take place in Lithuania in October. […]