Opinion
Eastern Europe
Society
Culture
Tomas Venclova presented with Jerzy Giedroyc award in Poland
On 1 December in Warsaw, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita presented the Jerzy Giedroyc award to Tomas Venclova, the Lithuanian poet, translator, publicist, and a well-known figure, for contributing to the current literary scene in Central and Eastern Europe. The award was also presented to the Institute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports. […]
Uncategorized
Foreign affairs
US focuses more on Eastern Europe, Lithuanian foreign minister says
On 2 November in Vilnius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius welcomed the participants of the roundtable discussion Transatlantic Renewal and thanked them for their effort to develop the vision of a free and united Europe, Lithuania’s MFA reports. […]
Opinion
Opinion: Indian-American’s letter to Lithuanians
I am brown, but I am not one of them or of you. I am on neither side, and honestly I don’t even care to take sides. But I am caught in the cross-fire, I had three incidents of cars trying to run me over in just the last 30 days. […]
European Union
Lithuania backs EU refugee sharing plan
Despite objections from some Central and Eastern European countries, the European Union‘s interior ministers on Tuesday voted in support of the plan to share 120,000 refugees. […]
European Union
EU ministers gather for meeting on refugees
Lithuanian Interior Minister Saulius Skvernelis is on Tuesday going to Brussels to attend a meeting of EU ministers where they will try to reach an agreement on the relocation of 160,000 refugees who have come to Europe. […]
Opinion
Opinion: The refugee crisis will define Europe’s future
While the refugee and migrant crisis is an existential problem for Europe, it is also a huge opportunity. The way it is handled will critically impact not only the future direction of Europe, but also its identity – the European ethos – economics, demographics and indeed (don’t be scared!) culture. Encapsulated in the current drama is an opportunity, which only few leaders and very few countries see as they are overwhelmed by the immediate tasks. If handled right, Europe will come out stronger. […]
Defence
Rasmussen: NATO ready to repel any possible attacks on Baltic countries
Former Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed the view to the Ukrainian news site APOSTROF that NATO would be ready to repel any possible military attack from Russia against the Baltic states. […]
One of the most important Central Europe’s political science events returns to Vilnius
Lithuanian Political Science Association in cooperation with Central European Political Science Association (CEPSA) is organising the 20th CEPSA conference on 25-26 September at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University (VU TSPMI), the International Political Science Association reports. […]
Foreign affairs
Lithuania and Israel hold bilateral consultation on Eastern European partnership
Tuesday, September 1, 2015, bilateral discussion and consultation on Eastern European partnership between Lithuanian and Israeli experts will be held in Vilnius, according to a press release by the Embassy of Israel. […]
Opinion
Opinion: Refugee quotas and missed opportunity for Eastern Europe
The current refugee and illegal immigration crisis in European Union received multiple opinions and positions. Mismanagement can be easily seen in the current situation. One of the most noticeable parts of it is a clash of interests inside the EU itself. The reluctance of the Eastern part of EU to cooperate with the West show that the governments of the Union do not agree on the same terms and that there are different points of view on the situation. This can be seen in the recent EU agreement for the relocation of the refugees, where ministers of the member states were responsible. […]
Society
Civil society forum in Raseiniai brings together young professionals from Central and Eastern Europe
On 23-26 July 2015, the “Europe Lab” Forum in Lithuania brought together around 80 young professionals aged between 25 and 35 from Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, and other countries. […]
Opinion
Opinion: The Riga Summit and its outcomes
The fourth Eastern Partnership Summit was held in Riga on 21-22 May 2015. The joint Declaration of the Riga Summit did not reaffirm either the European perspective of the Eastern European Partnership countries consistently demonstrating the best performance or the political support to Georgia and Ukraine in visa liberalization that Tbilisi and Kiev were looking forward to. Quite the opposite, compared to the Vilnius Summit document adopted two years ago, the tone and ambition of the Riga Summit declaration seemed rather weakened. […]
Defence
NATO commander pledges training in Eastern Europe “without major intervals”
Lithuania says to have received the NATO supreme commander’s pledge to seek that training in Eastern Europe takes place “without major intervals”. However, no specific decisions on the so-called Baltic brigade have been made yet. […]
Uncategorized
Putin will not risk nuclear war, political scientist Girnius says
American media recently reported that the United States was planning to deploy heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, including Lithuania. Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius and Minister of Defence Juozas Olekas have confirmed that they are familiar with the plans. Will the move further escalate tensions with Russia? Laisvoji Banga radio talks to political scientist Kęstutis Girnius of Vilnius University. […]
Putin says Russia to add 40 missiles to its nuclear arsenal
President Vladimir Putin says Russia will add more than 40 intercontinental ballistic missiles to its nuclear arsenal in 2015. […]
Defence
Lithuanian president’s adviser explains preparations for hosting US weaponry
Intensive preparations for the deployment of US weaponry in Lithuania are underway and American experts have already been in the country to evaluate the situation, says Valdemaras Sarapinas, chief adviser to the Lithuanian president on national security. […]
Defence
Lithuanian foreign minister: Stationing of US heavy weapons will change situation in region
Following US media reports that the Pentagon may station heavy weapons for its troops in several Eastern European and Baltic countries, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said on Sunday that these proposals are part of a US Congress-approved program to step up security in Eastern and Central Europe and that such weaponry would substantially change the security situation in Lithuania and throughout the region. […]