LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Friday, May 23, 2025
- Lithuania turns away 11 irregular migrant on border with Belarus
- Lithuanian PM to talk EU integration, regional security during Moldova visit
- Remaining brigade troops will arrive as soon as infrastructure's ready – German army chief
- President Nauseda remains most popular politician in Lithuania as PM's popularity drops - LIETUVOS RYTAS/VILMORUS POLL
- Democrats "For Lithuania" see their popularity rise, Nemunas Dawn's rating down - LIETUVOS RYTAS/VILMORUS POLL
- Air Baltic launches direct flights between Vilnius and Prague
- Cmilyte-Nielsen calls Vaitkus' Minsk visit 'malicious activity'
- Driver who rammed border fence with Belarus returned to Lithuania
- Vinted improperly handled personal data, Lithuanian court rules
- Lithuania will no longer accept non-biometric Russian passports
- Lithuanian PM says he believes in Moldova's European future
- Israel apologizes for warning shots fired toward diplomats – Lithuanian president's office
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Monday, May 26, 2025
Upcoming events in Lithuania for Friday, May 23, 2025
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Friday, May 23, 2025:
PRIME MINISTER Gintautas Paluckas to have a tête-à-tête meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean in Chisinau at 9.10 a.m.; to attend a bilateral meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean at 9.25 a.m., followed by a joint press conference at 10.20 a.m.; to meet with Moldovan Preisdent Maia Sandu at 111 a.m.; the prime minister's interview with Moldova's public broadcaster Moldova-1 at 12.10 p.m.; the official lunch the Moldovan prime minister at 1 p.m.; to visit Lithuania's Embassy in Chisinau at 2.40 p.m.
DEFENSE MINISTER Dovile Sakaliene to attend a meeting of the Baltic Defense Ministers' Committee (B3) in Estonia.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOR MINISTER Inga Ruginiene to continue her visit to Ukraine.
INTERIOR MINISTER Vladislav Kondratovic to meet with French Ambassador to Lithuania Alix Everard at 2 p.m.
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Lithuania turns away 11 irregular migrant on border with Belarus
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have turned away eleven migrant attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally over the past 24 hours, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Friday morning.
Latvia reported 43 illegal border crossing attempts on Thursday. Poland denied entry to 118 irregular migrants on Monday, according to the latest available information.
723 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year. A total of 1,002 irregular migrants were denied entry in 2024.
The influx of irregular migrants into the EU's eastern member states from Belarus began in 2021 and is blamed by the West on the Minsk regime.
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Lithuanian PM to talk EU integration, regional security during Moldova visit
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas is visiting Moldova on Friday and is set to meet with the country's President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
During his meetings in Chisinau, the prime minister will express Lithuania's solidarity and support for Moldova's integration into the EU and discuss the progress of this process.
The politicians will also discuss the security situation in the region and in Europe, Lithuania's support for Moldova's resilience and the implementation of the Euro-integration agenda.
During his visit, Paluckas will also visit the Lithuanian Embassy in Chisinau.
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Remaining brigade troops will arrive as soon as infrastructure's ready – German army chief
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS - The remaining German brigade troops are ready to come to Lithuania and will be sent as soon as the necessary infrastructure is in place, Germany's Chief of Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene General Carsten Breuer told the Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT's Dienos Tema (The Topic of the Day) on Thursday.
"We have our troops here, and also there are ready troops in Germany who are also part of the brigade. As soon as the infrastructure is ready, we will be able to send the rest of the brigade. Everything is going well," Breuer said.
Being involved in a project of this size, where a brigade has to be built from scratch outside Germany, poses all sorts of unpredictable challenges, he pointed out.
"But we have a plan in place and everything is going as planned. We know what we have to do," the German army chief said.
For his part, Lithuanian Chief of Defense General Raimundas Vaiksnoras says that Lithuania's growing defense budget would certainly "help speed up some processes". The plan to establish the German brigade is solid and feasible, he said, but its planned deployment in 2027 "requires us to be determined to do our homework".
As BNS reported earlier, the German 45th Armored Brigade "Lithuania" was officially inaugurated in the Cathedral Square in central Vilnius on Thursday. On April 1, it reached its full staff capacity. Currently, 500 German troops are serving in Lithuania, and the brigade is expected to reach it full combat capability with 5,000 troops and civilians and all the necessary equipment and supplies in 2027.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene says that 1,500 German Brigade troops should be in service by the end of the year, and at least 2,000 next year.
The decision to permanently relocate a brigade to Lithuania was made in 2023. This is the first German army brigade to be permanently deployed outside the country.
Lithuania and Germany have been actively cooperating in the field of defense since 2017 when Germany took the lead of the NATO battalion deployed in Lithuania. In April 2024, the German brigade's initial command element arrived in Lithuania, responsible for planning the brigade's redeployment.
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President Nauseda remains most popular politician in Lithuania as PM's popularity drops - LIETUVOS RYTAS/VILMORUS POLL
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS - President Gitanas Nauseda remains the most popular politician in Lithuania, while trust in Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, leader of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, drops, according to the latest Vilmorus survey for the Lietuvos Rytas daily, published on Friday.
According to the survey, 63.7 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Nauseda in May. Compared to April, this indicator remained almost unchanged as 64.1 percent had such an opinion in April.
18.2 percent had a negative opinion of the president.
Meanwhile, Paluckas' positive assessment went down by four percentage points to 43.7 percent in May, from 48.4 percent in April.
In May, 29.8 percent had an unfavorable opinion of the prime minister's performance, up from 26.3 percent in April.
Nevertheless, Paluckas ranks third among the most highly rated politicians in Lithuania.
"It is always more difficult for a prime minister to maintain his popularity," Vilmorus director Vladas Gaidys told BNS.
Speaker of the Seimas Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the Democrats "For Lithuania", part of the ruling bloc in Lithuania, comes in second in the popularity ranking. In May, 52.2 percent had a favorable opinion of him, up from 51.7 percent in April, and 23.6 percent rated him negatively, down from 29.2 percent in April).
This is Skvernelis' best result since 2018 when he was prime minister, Gaidys pointed out.
Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, leader of the opposition Liberal Movement, moved up to fourth place in the rankings. In May, 39 percent had a favorable opinion of her, up from 36.6 percent in April. Moreover, the number of those who had a positive opinion of her was higher than those who had a negative opinion.
According to Gaidys, six members of the government have a positive balance. They include Social Security and Labor Minister Inga Ruginiene Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys, Culture Minister Sarunas Birutis, Economy and Innovation Minister Lukas Savickas, Education, Science and Sport Minister Raminta Popoviene and Transport and Communications Minister Eugenijus Sabutis.
"It is rare for ministers to have a positive balance," the Vilmorus director pointed out.
The positive rating of Laurynas Kasciunas, leader of the opposition conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, dropped slightly to 35.3 percent in May form from 37.9 percent in April. Slightly more people had a negative rather than a positive opinion of him.
33.9 percent had a favorable opinion of Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene.
Mwanwhile, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, part of the ruling bloc, is the least popular politician in Lithuania as 45.8 percent had a negative opinion of this politician, unchanged from April. The lawmaker has also lost some of the respondents who have a positive opinion of him, down to 29.8 percent, from 33.1 percent in April.
1,000 people were interviewed by Vilmorus on May 2-12.
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Democrats "For Lithuania" see their popularity rise, Nemunas Dawn's rating down - LIETUVOS RYTAS/VILMORUS POLL
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS - People in Lithuania are increasingly more positive about the Democrats "For Lithuania", part of the ruling bloc, and are also increasingly disappointed with another coalition member, the Nemunas Dawn party, according to the latest Vilmorus survey for the Lietuvos Rytas daily, published on Friday.
It shows that 11.6 percent of respondents would have voted for the Democrats at the beginning of May, compared to 9.7 percent in April, when the party was ranked fourth in terms of popularity.
The Democrats swapped places with the Nemunas Dawn party as it drooped from second to fourth place. In early May, 7.5 percent would have voted for this party, down from 11.3 percent in April.
Vilmorus director Vladas Gaidys says these changes are not accidental as they reflect a trend in public opinion.
"This is the highest result for the Democrats since they were founded. Saulius Skvernelis' party looks solid, professional and does not overly bicker, which is opposite of the Nemunas Dawn party," he told BNS.
The ruling Lithuanian Social Democratic Party remains the most popular party in Lithuania as 14.7 percent of the population would have voted for it in early May, up from 14.9 percent in April.
The opposition conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats remain in the third place with 9.5 percent, a slight drop from 10.7 percent in April.
The opposition Liberal Movement moved up to the fifth place with 6.4 percent, up from 4.9 percent.
The last party to cross the 5 percent threshold is the opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union as it retained the same level of popularity, at 6.1 percent, over a month.
Only 2.3 percent would have voted for other parties in early May, mostly for the Freedom Party and the National Alliance.
Gaidys points out that an increasing number of people in Lithuania do not know which party they would vote for in a general election. Their overall percentage was 41.9 percent at the beginning of this month, compared to 39.8 percent in April.
"This is probably a sign of disillusionment with the parties," Gaidys said.
1,000 people were interviewed by Vilmorus on May 2-12.
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Air Baltic launches direct flights between Vilnius and Prague
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Latvian carrier Air Baltic on Thursday launched direct flights between Vilnius and Prague.
The flights between the Lithuanian and Czech capitals will operate on Thursdays and Saturdays until September 27, the company said in a press release on Friday.
"The direct flights to Prague will be significant for both business and tourism. We expect this route to become especially important in the run-up to Lithuania's presidency of the Council of the European Union, as it will help ensure convenient connections to major European capitals," Deputy Transport Minister Roderikas Ziobakas said in the press release.
Mantas Vrubliauskas, Air Baltic's vice president for network management, noted that there had been no direct flights between Vilnius and Prague for ten years.
"The launch of direct flights between Vilnius and Prague restores a long-unserved route, making travel significantly easier for the approximately 20,000 passengers annually who previously relied on connecting flights," he said.
The Latvian airline operates more than 130 routes from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere and, seasonally, Gran Canaria to over 70 cities in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus region.
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Cmilyte-Nielsen calls Vaitkus' Minsk visit 'malicious activity'
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS - Liberal MP Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen says former presidential candidate Eduard Vaitkus' recent visit to Minsk and the statements he made there constitute malicious activity.
"His statements in Belarus have nothing to do with freedom of speech, with the expression of opinion and pluralism," she told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Friday. "This is slander, this is deliberately providing instruments to hostile forces. Not just hostile, but hostile to our country, who then actively use such narratives. This is malicious activity, without any doubt."
Vaitkus' behavior in Belarus was not an accidental act, it was deliberate, she underlined, adding that Lithuania must react to such cases.
"It is very important that democracy, guided by respect for and protection of freedom of expression, does not allow the cover of freedom of expression to be used to cover up completely different, malicious actions," Cmilyte-Nielsen said.
"It is likely that as the war against Ukraine continues and attempts are made to destabilize the situation in Lithuania and neighboring countries through hybrid means, hostile countries such as Russia and Belarus will resort to various information attacks. We need to be able to defend ourselves against them, we need to be resilient," she added.
While in Belarus, Vaitkus claimed that President Gitanas Nauseda had been elected illegally and accused Lithuania of being on a path toward destroying the Lithuanian nation and statehood.
His remarks were published by Belarus' state news agency Belta and various news websites. According to those reports, Vaitkus met with the leader of the Belaya Rus party and held a press conference.
In response, Lithuania's police launched a pre-trial investigation into aiding another state to act against Lithuania. Vaitkus declined to comment on the probe, but his lawyer, Mazvydas Misiunas, told BNS later that the purpose of Vaitkus's trip was allegedly to restore "normal cooperation" and dialogue between the two countries and their people.
Lithuania's Council for the State Awards recommended on Thursday that Vaitkus be stripped of the state awards re received from the then President Rolandas Paksas in 2004.
By Jūratė Skėrytė
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Driver who rammed border fence with Belarus returned to Lithuania
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Belarus on Thursday returned a Lithuanian citizen who earlier this month crossed into the neighboring country after ramming the border fence at high speed in a rented Bolt Drive vehicle.
Belarusian officers detained the man. The country's border service said he was intoxicated at the time.
Giedrius Misutis, an advisor to Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (SBGS), told BNS that Belarusian officers handed the man over to Lithuanian border guards at the Medininkai border checkpoint on Thursday.
The man was taken to the Vilnius border unit for questioning. He is facing charges under two articles of the Criminal Code: unlawful border crossing and destruction or damage of property.
The suspect was released on Thursday evening. He is required to report to police at regular intervals.
The Bolt Drive vehicle, a Toyota Yaris Cross, is still in Belarus. The company Bolt is working to recover it.
By Ainis Gurevičius
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Vinted improperly handled personal data, Lithuanian court rules
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Vinted, Europe's largest second-hand retail platform and Lithuania's first unicorn, improperly handled personal data and violated the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a Lithuanian court has ruled.
The Regional Administrative Court on Thursday dismissed the company's appeal seeking to overturn decisions by Lithuania's State Data Protection Inspectorate (SDPI).
"The Inspectorate's decisions were based on both facts and legal norms," the court said in a press release.
It added that it found that the watchdog "acted within its competence and did not exceed the scope of the complaints."
Following a review of complaints forwarded by France's national data protection authority, the Inspectorate concluded in February 2024 that Vinted had failed to properly handle customer requests to delete their data, failed to sufficiently and clearly explain the reasons for blocking their accounts, and failed to provide sufficient information about its data processing practices.
Vinted argued in court that it had properly assessed deletion requests and provided all necessary information, and had neither compromised user privacy nor endangered data security.
Last July, the Inspectorate fined Vinted 2.385 million euros over data protection violations following complaints from customers in France and Poland.
Vinted has challenged the fine in court, but the case is on hold until the latest ruling on personal data handling becomes final. The ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania within 30 days.
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Lithuania will no longer accept non-biometric Russian passports
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS - Lithuania will no longer accept Russian citizens' non-biometric passports as of June 1 under a joint decree of the foreign and interior ministers, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
According to the document, Russian citizens' non-biometric passports will no longer be recognized as valid travel documents for entry into Lithuania. The new rules will not apply to persons transiting through Lithuanian territory by rail from the Kaliningrad region to mainland Russian territory and back.
"With this decision, we join other EU countries that have already introduced such a restriction. Soon it will be two years since we started discussions on restricting the movement of Russian special services personnel in the Schengen area. As we all know, some of the high-profile terrorist attacks in Europe have been carried out by the same GRU agents who arrived with different passports. Biometric passports make it more difficult to falsify identities, and our citizens will feel safer," Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said.
The decision not to recognize Russian non-biometric passports is necessary in the changed geopolitical situation, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic says, adding tat it’s the national security interest of the State of Lithuania.
"Non-biometric passports do not have modern security features and are easier to forge, which increases the risk of illegal use," he said.
According to Kondratovic, in exceptional cases, requests from representatives of the Russian democratic opposition, independent media outlets or members of the public to enter Lithuania with a non-biometric passport will be accepted if the purpose of their entry is in the interests of the State of Lithuania.
Non-biometric Russian documents are no longer accepted by Denmark, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France and Iceland.
Holders of such passport and a residence permit in Lithuania or another EU country will have to replace their old passports with biometric ones by December 1.
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Lithuanian PM says he believes in Moldova's European future
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, who is visiting Moldova on Friday, said he believes in the country's European future despite Russia's attempts to disrupt Chisinau's political course.
"Lithuania believes in Moldova's European future and will continue to provide the political, expert and technical assistance needed to implement reforms and build resilience," the government quoted Paluckas as saying in a press release.
"Despite Russia's interference and the broad spectrum of hybrid actions targeting Moldova, the country is making steady progress toward EU membership – a path chosen by its people," he said.
According to Paluckas, the project of a peaceful, united and secure Europe cannot be fulfilled without the full-fledged EU membership of Moldova, Ukraine and the Western Balkan states.
He stressed the importance of these countries maintaining an ambitious reform pace, with a strong focus on quality and long-term sustainability.
In Chisinau, Paluckas met with Moldovan President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Dorin Recean.
The meetings covered Moldova's progress toward EU integration, the security situation in the region and in Europe, Lithuania's support for strengthening Moldova's resilience and advancing its European agenda, bilateral cooperation and other current issues.
As part of efforts to help boost Moldova's security, Lithuania handed over 100 FPV drones to the country.
The officials also discussed "which forms of Lithuanian support are currently most relevant to ensuring Moldova's smooth and accelerated European integration," according to the press release.
"Lithuania remains committed to supporting the reform of Moldova's energy sector and the diversification of its energy sources," the government said.
Other topics included Lithuania's support for Moldova in countering Russian disinformation, as well as economic relations between the two countries and regional developments.
By Saulius Jakučionis
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Israel apologizes for warning shots fired toward diplomats – Lithuanian president's office
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – Israel has apologized for this week's incident in which its forces fired warning shots in the direction of foreign diplomats, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda's office said on Friday.
"Lithuania expressed its firm position that Israel must ensure the safety of diplomats, urged a thorough investigation of the incident and called for the results to be shared," the office said in its response to an inquiry by BNS.
"Through diplomatic channels, Lithuania received an apology from the Israeli side, along with assurances that an investigation is underway and that Lithuania will be informed of its outcome," it added.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has called for the incident to be investigated without delay.
Lithuania's top diplomat, Kestutis Budrys, described the incident as "irresponsible" and said it raised "questions about accountability".
The incident occurred on Wednesday when Israeli forces fired warning shots toward a group of foreign diplomats, including the head of Lithuania's office in Palestine, in Jenin.
The Israeli military said its troops fired the shots after the diplomats deviated from their approved route during their visit to the occupied West Bank city.
The military said no injuries had been reported and expressed “regret for the inconvenience caused.”
The Lithuanian diplomat, who was in the delegation visiting the Jenin refugee camp, was unharmed.
Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas called the incident "completely unacceptable."
By Paulius Perminas, Vilmantas Venckūnas
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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Monday, May 26, 2025
VILNIUS, May 23, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Monday, May 26, 2025:
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner to visit Lithuania.
INTERIOR MINISTER Vladislav Kondratovic to meet with Brunner at 3 p.m.
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