Defence
NATO is not brain-dead, Mr Macron!
From the Baltic Way to the Berlin Wall and then all the way to the restoration of independence on 11 March 1990, which was ultimately followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Those were […]
Emmanuel Macron
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Hungarian lessons for Lithuania and Europe
There is a good old English term illiberal democracy that does not have a precise translation into Lithuanian. It defines the regimes that come to power through democratic means, but their representatives apparently aim at the never-ending reign trampling on the fundamental European values of democracy, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. Let us call them anti-democrats, and let me share some insights about them. […]
Opinion
Russian politics in Putin’s new term
Russian President Vladimir Putin is the great survivor of European politics. Western leaders come and go, but Putin has persisted. He has managed to hold on to power for nearly two decades, through three foreign wars, two economic crises, multiple presidential and parliamentary elections (of varying degrees of fairness), a series of leadership reshuffles, the rise and fall of oil prices, and successive waves of economic sanctions. […]
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Identifying the biggest threats to the country, wanting to both punish and be friends
Which country do Lithuanians see as the friendliest and which – as the most hostile? What is the Lithuanian people’s perception of Donald Trump, Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin? What leads to such choices? After asking this of Lithuanian citizens in a number of surveys, not only old truths surface, but also unexpected details. […]
Politics
PM dismisses criticism of gender inequality in his all-men cabinet
Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis on Friday dismissed criticism that Lithuania might become the only country in Europe where women are absent from the cabinet of ministers. […]
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Vytautas Sinica. Euro federalism is eroding the European Union
Compared to Lithuania, no other state better understood the fact that membership in the EU and NATO – especially NATO – was (and still is) essential to the country’s long-term survival and the assurance of national interests. It was this goal of achieving the membership that motivated and led Lithuania forward during its first decade of independence. Lithuania always associated NATO with safety and EU with welfare and benefits – and, sadly, better governance as well. […]
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Vytautas Keršanskas. Let‘s stop talking about a European military
In recent months, we hear ever more intensive discussions on the creation of a European military. The topic has been covered by figures ranging from the heads of the largest European Union country heads of state to the presidential candidates in Lithuania. However, one must note that it is an equally impossible to even begin implementing idea as, say, an EU Olympic team or football team. […]
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Arvydas Juozaitis. Trump and the new world order
Major Lithuanian news media did not seriously review US President Donald Trump‘s September 26 speech at the UN General Assembly, which shook the world political community. Prominent analytics say that this dramatically changes the accents […]
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Šarūnas Legatas. Ideologized political science turns a blind eye on issues of security
In a recent article by Kęstutis Girnius, titled “Is there an effort to antagonize the Russian minority of Lithuania?”, the status of national minorities living in Lithuania has again been interpreted in a way that […]
Foreign affairs
The Kremlin is not interested in Macrons’ ‘stability’
The European security architecture needs to change, French President Emmanuel Macron declared during his latest visit to Finland. The changing world security architecture is forcing the European Union to adopt to the changing world. This is inevitable. However, the French President also called for an ‘update’ of the EU and Russia’s relationship. An ‘update’ should be welcomed, but the main question on whose terms this ‘update’ should be. Is the EU ready to accept an extended hand of friendship from the Kremlin? Certainly not and this is why. […]
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Arvydas Juozaitis. Emmanuel Macron’s “Napoleonism”
The era of pompous propaganda is quickly nearing its end. Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that Europe can no longer rely on the USA and he will thus seek to create a new European […]
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Gitanas Nausėda: We have lost our compass
According to SEB chief economist dr. Gitanas Nausėda, who leads in the expected future president and most influential business figure ratings, people’s welfare and declining social segregation should be directions for Lithuania’s future because the […]
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Non-traditional president in 2019: about post-democracy and our (wrong) choices, Part I
It will be neither an election campaign nor prophesier who will win, although I can almost guarantee who. It is likely that next year, the pretenders for the country’s Top Person will not necessarily be […]
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August the 7th and Georgia: anatomy of the betrayal of the decade
When talking about our history, we often remind ourselves to always remember the past in order not to repeat mistakes in future. Unfortunately, we have all but forgotten the story of betrayal of Georgia. Consequently, […]
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Vygaudas Ušackas. Echoes of the Helsinki meeting: six steps for Lithuania
In tennis terminology, the meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the Helsinki courts on Monday ended with the latter winning 6:0. While the head of the most powerful state in the world futilely […]
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Kęstutis Girnius. Has NATO grown stronger? Has Grybauskaitė saved the Alliance?
From its first minute, the NATO summit meeting became Donald’s “show”. The meeting had not even officially started, but during a breakfast with NATO Secretary General J. Stoltenberg, President Trump began to criticise other NATO […]
Foreign affairs
Unexpected words to Grybauskaitė from Trump and Macron
The NATO summit meeting could have ended in failure – there were talks about US President Donald Trump‘s ultimatum of withdrawing from the Alliance. However, after tense minutes of a closed meeting, the American’s moods changed. The Lithuanian president was among those, who received thanks for such a successful conclusion. […]
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Kęstutis Girnius. Three for the European Union and Lithuania
The European Union member states are struggling with three major problems – migration, strengthening the Eurozone and the United Kingdom‘s withdrawal conditions. The first question worries the so-called populists the most, the second – France, […]
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Kęstutis Girnius. Migration and democracy
Three years after a massive flood of refugees, migration is once more beginning to dominate European Union politics. The current reason is the new right wing Italian government’s decision to prohibit a French NGO’s ship […]