LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
- Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
- Every euro spent in Ukraine counters Russia's goals – Lithuanian foreign minister
- GPS jamming will persist as long as Russia's war continues – Lithuanian parlt speaker
- Lithuanian parlt likely to decide on partnership legislation this year – vice-speaker
- Lithuanian parlt to hold unscheduled sitting on tax reform on Monday
- Different standards should apply to artists in Lithuania's monument debate – parlt speaker
- Bears become more frequent visitors in Lithuania as population recovers - BNS THEME
- Four artillery shell replicas stolen from Kaunas fort museum
- We succeeded in presenting Lithuania as thinking about more than just war – president
- Lithuanian ethics watchdog finds Jonava mayor in conflict of interest over TV purchase
- We're in Leopard tank assembly talks with various companies – Lithuanian defmin
- Lithuanian cabinet clears kamikaze drone, anti-tank mine purchases without public tender
- Scale of Russia's interference with GPS signals is expanding – Lithuanian vicemin
- Lithuanian president urges not rush to conclusions on PM's ability to continue working
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, June 12, 2025
Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, June 11, 2025
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Wednesday, June 11, 2025:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to continue his visit to Japan.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND LABOR MINISTER Inga Ruginiene to meet with Sirpa Rautio, director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, at 11 a.m.
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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have recorded no attempts to cross into the country from Belarus illegally in the past 24 hours, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Wednesday morning.
Latvia reported 59 illegal border crossing attempts on Tuesday. Poland denied entry to 120 irregular migrants on Monday, according to the latest available information.
Lithuania has barred a total of 857 irregular migrants from entering from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year, after turning away 1,002 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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Every euro spent in Ukraine counters Russia's goals – Lithuanian foreign minister
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Every Western euro spent in Ukraine to support its war effort is a form of resistance to Russia's objectives, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said as he continued his visit to the war-ravaged country on Tuesday.
Budrys visited Odesa on Tuesday together with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
"Every euro spent here is highly meaningful because it enables people to stay. Otherwise, they would leave their cities and move elsewhere – which is exactly what Russia wants, to push people out," Lithuania's top diplomat said in a press release.
In Odesa, the ministers visited a maternity hospital hit by Russian attacks the previous night, as well as Molodizhne Lyceum, which is equipped with a bomb shelter built using funds from Lithuania, Ireland and the European Union.
Molodizhne Lyceum is one of six EU-funded facilities aimed at ensuring children in high-risk areas can continue their education in safe conditions.
These facilities are located in underground shelters protected from bomb blasts and radiation. Around 5,000 children currently study in them. Similar centers have been set up in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions.
Lithuania has committed to providing at least 0.25 percent of its GDP to support Ukraine annually.
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GPS jamming will persist as long as Russia's war continues – Lithuanian parlt speaker
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Recent GPS signal disruptions affecting aircraft and ships near the Lithuanian seaport of Klaipeda are linked to Russia's efforts to shield its Kaliningrad exclave from potential airstrikes, Saulius Skvernelis, the speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, said on Tuesday.
Skvernelis warned that this problem will persist across the region as long as the Kremlin continues its war in Ukraine.
"This is related to the war in Ukraine. The Russians are protecting the Kaliningrad region from potential air attacks. This is not specifically intended to disrupt or harm our aircraft flying to Lithuania. It's just that the protection zone extends beyond the Kaliningrad region's borders, and the threat, the interference, is affecting our territory as well," the speaker told an LRT TV program.
"This is all part of the war and as long as Russia keeps fighting, we're going to have this problem,” he added.
Thirteen EU member states have called on the European Commission to respond to interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in EU countries.
In their joint letter to the Commission, the countries stressed that GNSS interference cases are not random incidents but systematic and deliberate action by the Russian and Belarusian regimes aimed at destabilizing regional infrastructure, especially in the transport sector, the Lithuanian Transport Ministry said on Tuesday.
"We can appeal to all EU countries and any institution, but it won't help as long as Russia uses this kind of electronic protection for its military sites to defend itself against Ukrainian strikes," Skvernelis said.
"We must force Russia to end the war and then this problem will simply go away," he added.
Data from Lithuania's flight management company Oro Navigacija (Air Navigation) show that the number of GPS interference reports from aircrews surged tenfold in January year-on-year, but declined in March.
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Lithuanian parlt likely to decide on partnership legislation this year – vice-speaker
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – The Seimas is expected to pass legislation on partnerships this year, Juozas Olekas, the first deputy speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, said on Wednesday.
"I can't say for sure whether we'll manage to do it by the end of the spring session or in the fall, but I believe we should resolve this issue this year," the Social Democrat told Ziniu Radijas.
The Constitutional Court ruled in April that the institution of partnership, as now defined in the Civil Code, is unconstitutional because it only provides for a union between a man and a woman and does not recognize same-sex relationships.
It also ruled as unconstitutional the Civil Code provision stating that the legal regulation of cohabitation outside of marriage only takes effect once a separate law regulating the registration of partnerships comes into force.
Olekas said the Seimas is ready to take action to comply with the court's ruling.
"We're ready, of course. We have a court decision, and we have to make sure people can formalize their relationships. I believe the amendments will be tabled and put to a vote," he said.
The Civil Code has provided for different-sex partnerships for 24 years, but the parliament has yet to adopt a law setting out the details. The Constitutional Court described this as an intolerable situation.
Several attempts have been made in the parliament to grant legal recognition to gender-neutral partnerships, but none have succeeded.
In the previous legislative term, two bills were introduced to regulate partnerships between both different-sex and same-sex couples: the Law on Civil Union and amendments to the Civil Code introducing the concept of a "close relationship."
Under the civil union bill, partners would jointly own shared property, with the option to agree on a different property regime. They would also inherit from each other under the law without paying inheritance tax, be able to act on each other's behalf and in each other’s interests, represent each other in healthcare matters, and access each other's medical information.
The bill also states that "partners must be loyal to each other and show mutual respect, provide moral and material support, and, depending on their means, contribute to their shared life or meet each other's needs."
Meanwhile, a more conservative proposal by MP Paulius Saudargas of the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats would introduce the concept of a "close relationship" to regulate economic relations between individuals. It does not link such a relationship to life as a couple.
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Lithuanian parlt to hold unscheduled sitting on tax reform on Monday
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania will hold an unscheduled plenary session on Monday, June 16, in order to adopt amendments to the existing tax laws in time, the Board of the Seimas decided on Wednesday.
"We have four laws and so many different proposals to change them that the consideration phase will certainly take some time. In order to maintain the time limits between the consideration stage and the adoption stage, a certain number of hours is foreseen, and we don't want the session on Thursday (June 12 - BNS) to end at night and to avoid another an overnight tax reform," Speaker of the Seimas Saulius Skvernelis said during the board meeting. "We have very serious issues, therefore, I think the members of the Seimas should consider them responsibly and without fatigue."
Part of the government's reform package is scheduled to be adopted on Tuesday, June 13, and another part will be adopted on Thursday, June 19.
As BNS reported earlier, the ruling bloc aims to adopt the tax changes by July so that they can enter into force from next year.
The proposed package of tax changes is expected to add around 280 million euros to the state budget next year and 552 million euros in 2027. The bulk of this money is to be spent on national defense after the State Defense Council decided in January to increase defense spending to by 12-13 billion euros by 2030, bringing it to 5-6 percent of GDP.
By Jūratė Skėrytė
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Different standards should apply to artists in Lithuania's monument debate – parlt speaker
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Saulius Skvernelis, the speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, believes that when considering the removal of monuments to artists such as poet Salomeja Neris, different evaluation criteria should apply than those used for Soviet-era political figures.
"I would certainly not support such a primitive interpretation of the law, like, 'Oh, it's the Soviet era, and if someone was somehow linked to the system, we must now tear it all down.' There were figures who consciously acted against the state at the time, and I believe artists and cultural figures should be judged by different criteria," Skvernelis told an LRT TV program on Tuesday.
"I really wouldn't support (removing the monument to Neris). (...) I understand removing monuments put up for repressive regime structures or certain (political) figures – that's obvious and hardly up for debate. But many prominent cultural and artistic figures, including poets, were caught up in that meat grinder," the speaker said.
"I wouldn't want to see us start persecuting people who were perhaps formally part of the delegation that brought Stalin's sun back to Lithuania, but as a poet, I think we remember her work, and it's even sung during the Song Festival," he said.
The so-called Desovietization Commission recommended last August that the Vilnius city municipality remove the monument to Neris. That recommendation was later formalized by Arunas Bubnys, head of the Genocide and Resistance Research Center of Lithuania.
The commission found that Neris was active in the occupying political structures and participated in decision-making that contributed to the entrenchment of Soviet rule in Lithuania.
Neris, along with other writers, created poetry and prose that glorified the Soviet regime. In 1940, she traveled to Moscow as a delegate of the People's Seimas to request Lithuania’s admission into the Soviet Union.
The decision to take down the monument has been challenged in the Regional Administrative Court by the poet’s granddaughter, Salomeja Bucaitė, and the Lithuanian Association of Artists.
In protest against the planned removal, poetry readings were held at the monument a few weeks ago.
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Bears become more frequent visitors in Lithuania as population recovers - BNS THEME
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS - Lithuanian border guards spotted more brown bears in the first five months of this year than they did in the same period last year, and experts says it has to do with the installation of an extensive monitoring system and the recovery of a permanent population of these animals.
The State Border Guard Service says border guards have recently seen brown bears on several occasions in or near the districts of Varena, Svencionys and Vilnius. Giedrius Misutis, spokesman for the SBGS, told BNS that bears have been seen at least five times at the Belarusian border this year, mostly in May. Last year, border guards recorded two such cases in the first five months, but there could have been more.
The SBGS does not keep official statistics on bear sightings but shares information on these animals' migration because it is of interest to the public.
"It would be very difficult to say how accurate the numbers are because the appearance of a bear is not the same as the appearance of an illegal migrant as the latter is included in the statistics, is recorded and documented (...) Its very interesting as people are taking a lot about these bears now," Misutis said.
According to the unofficial bear map of the Lithuanian Hunters and Fishermen Society, bears have been video-recorded 17 times in Lithuania so far this year, and people have also found their tracks or excrement. Last year, bears or signs of their presence were recorded 19 times.
Linas Balciauskas, of the State Nature Research Center, says the frequent sightings of bears have to do with the recovery of a small population of bears permanently living in Lithuania.
"Bears have finally returned to Lithuania. Right now, nobody can say exactly how many there are, but there are between five and ten. Now we can say that it is a permanent population," the expert told BNS, adding that Lithuania has quite suitable conditions for brown bears to live.
Approached by BNS, the Environment Ministry said there's currently no evidence that bear activity in Lithuania poses a direct threat to biodiversity or human safety.
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Four artillery shell replicas stolen from Kaunas fort museum
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Several replicas of artillery shells were reported stolen from the Kaunas Ninth Fort Museum on Tuesday, the Police Department said Wednesday.
Around 11 a.m., it was discovered that four replicas of artillery gun shells had been taken from the museum after a padlock had been broken.
The loss is valued at 700 euros. Police have launched a pre-trial investigation into the theft.
Marius Peciulis, the museum's director, told BNS that the stolen replicas were displayed in the exhibition area of the fort building. They are not valuable artifacts but replicas made within the last decade.
"In this case, the stolen items don't represent a significant loss for us as a museum," Peciulis said. "No actual exhibits went missing."
"The main concern for us is the break-in itself, which shows we're facing a certain level of provocation and an attempt to enter the museum. It's forcing us to rethink our security protocols," he added.
Peciulis said the museum is cooperating with police and hopes the investigation will reveal the burglars' identities and motives.
"The museum has video surveillance and an alarm system, and all relevant information has been passed to the police," he added.
The director declined to say whether the cameras captured any suspects, citing the ongoing investigation as the reason.
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We succeeded in presenting Lithuania as thinking about more than just war – president
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says his visit to Japan has succeeded in presenting Lithuania as a country that is not only thinking about war, but also as a country that is developing and is investment-friendly.
"I think we have managed to, first of all, present Lithuania in such a way that it does not give the impression that we are only thinking about war. That we are building, we are moving forward at a fast pace, we are creating an investment-friendly environment. And that we are, of course, taking care of our security," the president said in a video comment released by his press service on Wednesday.
"And there are already good points of contact between our business and Japanese business," he added.
Nauseda noted that the science forum he opened on Tuesday at Waseda University in Tokyo was not about what might happen, but about the results of joint scientific projects, including in the field of fighting cancer, which have been ongoing for several years.
"So we have that cooperation and I very much hope that this top-level visit will help even more, give some additional impetus to our moving forward," the Lithuanian leader said.
On Wednesday, Nauseda visited the Expo 2025 international exhibition in Osaka where he toured the Lithuanian and Japanese pavilions.
"I know that our pavilion is popular, and is highly ranked, but more importantly, it seems to me that people take away a good understanding of our country from our pavilion," the president said.
As BNS reported earlier, at Waseda University in Tokyo on Tuesday, Nauseda addressed the participants of the Lithuanian-Japanese Science Forum and participated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the national archives of both countries.
"I believe this will open up opportunities not only to exchange documents, but also for research groups to go to Japan, or for Japanese groups to come to Lithuania because we have interesting, wonderful documents both here and in Lithuania," Nauseda said.
During his visit, he also met with Emperor Naruhito of Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and participated in the Lithuania-Japan Business Forum.
After these meetings and events, Nauseda said that security issues in the Far East and Europe are closely interlinked, and he urged Japanese entrepreneurs to get involved in strategic projects and to enter the smart technology market in Lithuania.
By Dominykas Biržietis
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Lithuanian ethics watchdog finds Jonava mayor in conflict of interest over TV purchase
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Jonava Mayor Mindaugas Sinkevicius placed himself in a conflict of interest when he used funds allocated for council member activities to buy two TV sets and pay for communication services, the Chief Official Ethics Commission ruled on Wednesday.
"The decision was unanimous," Gediminas Sakalauskas, the commission's chairman, said during the sitting.
The ethics watchdog took up the matter following a referral from the Prosecutor General's Office in late March. Earlier that month, a court acquitted Sinkevicius in a related criminal case.
The Supreme Court of Lithuania dropped the so-called "receipt case" against the politician, ruling that while he had committed a violation when spending funds allocated for office-related expenses, it did not warrant criminal liability.
Before the trial began, Sinkevicius repaid 4,015 euros to the municipal budget. He claimed that the use of municipal funds to pay his personal Telia Lietuva bills was accidental and described it as a human error.
By law, the ethics watchdog can only investigate actions committed within the past three years, so it reviewed the factual circumstances dating from March 14, 2022.
The criminal investigation, and the information it gathered about Sinkevicius, covered the previous municipal council term from 2019 to 2023.
Following the favorable Supreme Court ruling, Sinkevicius returned to his post as mayor of Jonava.
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We're in Leopard tank assembly talks with various companies – Lithuanian defmin
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Lithuania is in talks with various companies regarding the possibility of assembling German Leopard tanks in Lithuania and the number of potential assemblers will be expanded, Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on Wednesday after Lithuania Defense Services, a company based in Lithuania's central Jonava District, said yesterday it's in talks to assembly these tanks.
"Negotiations are underway, we have no final decisions on which company it will be, and it would probably be very incorrect to comment on this in public," Sakaliene told BNS, asked to confirm that negotiations are underway with LDS.
The minister refrained to disclose the number of companies the state is negotiating with.
Speaking on Tuesday, Vilius Semeska, a board member at LDS, told the public broadcaster LRT that there are specific plans on how to develop the necessary infrastructure to assemble tanks, but "we just need to agree with the government and the Defense Ministry".
"Negotiations are currently taking place at a fairly high level," he added.
"The fact that this company shows proactivity and willingness to participate, and has some capacity already in place, is very positive and will be discussed during the negotiations," Sakaliene noted. "We will certainly expand the cluster meant for the assembly, production and servicing of heavy machinery, and we will look at how to do it most efficiently, so as to ensure that the production process is ensured, speeded up, or, at least, not slowed down, and that our industry's interests are adequately represented."
The Jonava-based company offers services ranging from maintenance and repair of vehicle systems for the Lithuanian army and NATO allies to logistical support. It was founded in 2022 by two German arms manufacturers, Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.
In her recent interview with BNS, Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said that Lithuania is in talks with Leopard manufacturers to have the German-made tanks it plans to acquire assembled in the country in cooperation with local businesses."
Lithuania plans to purchase a total of 44 Leopard tanks.
Sakaliene did not specify which companies might be involved in the assembly process.
Under the initial agreement, tanks for the first company are expected to arrive in Lithuania in 2029, with a full tank battalion to be formed by 2034.
According to the minister, an advance payment will be made in the coming months to speed up delivery.
Lithuania is pushing to accelerate the deliveries as part of its goal to develop a fully operational national division by 2030.
By Dominykas Biržietis
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Lithuanian cabinet clears kamikaze drone, anti-tank mine purchases without public tender
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – The Lithuanian government on Wednesday gave the green light for skipping public tender procedures when procuring loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, and anti-tank mines.
The Cabinet approved a resolution, drafted by the Defense Ministry, that exempts these purchases from the rules of the Law on Public Procurement in the Fields of Defense and Security.
This means the Defense Materiel Agency will be able to procure kamikaze drones and anti-tank mines without holding a public tender.
According to the ministry, this exemption is allowed under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which permits any member state to "take such measures as it considers necessary for the protection of the essential interests of its security which are connected with the production of or trade in arms, munitions and war material."
The ministry says the move aims to protect an essential national security interest – safeguarding state sovereignty, territorial integrity, the democratic constitutional order, peace, and a secure environment for the country's development – and to strengthen Lithuania's defense capabilities.
Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene says Lithuanian companies are capable of producing this type of weaponry and talks with them on procurement are already underway.
"I prefer not to name them now because, as we all understand, negotiations are a very sensitive process," she told reporters before the Cabinet meeting.
The minister added that details on purchasing kamikaze drones and mines, including when they will be delivered to the Lithuanian Armed Forces, will be known "in the near future."
"As for specific dates, the Defense Materiel Agency, which directly carries out most of our purchases in this field, will be able to provide information as soon as it can," she said.
The ministry said the government resolution aims to supply the Lithuanian Armed Forces with domestically produced military equipment and achieve operational drone capacity by 2027, as well as to encourage Lithuanian manufacturers to develop defense technology capabilities and create new, resilient and reliable supply chains.
In preparation for these purchases, the Defense Materiel Agency found that companies operating in Lithuania could produce goods meeting the Lithuanian Armed Forces' technical requirements.
The ministry noted that without this exemption, the agency would have to hold a tender open to many bidders, including foreign suppliers. As a result, it said, a foreign supplier offering a more economically advantageous bid could be selected, but essential national security interests and objectives would not be protected.
Moreover, without this exemption, it would be impossible to build and support the development, production, supply, maintenance, repair and spare parts capabilities for military equipment in Lithuania, or to ensure a continuous and timely supply of military equipment to both the Ukrainian and Lithuanian armed forces, according to the ministry.
Last week, the Cabinet allowed skipping public tender procedures when procuring unmanned aerial vehicles, counter-drone systems, optical surveillance equipment and laser target designators.
By Vilmantas Venckūnas
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Scale of Russia's interference with GPS signals is expanding – Lithuanian vicemin
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS - The scale of GPS signal interference caused by Russia is expanding, Lithuanian Defense Vice Minister Karolis Aleksa says.
"We are seeing active activity that has been going on for some time on the Russian side. (...). The only question is the extent of the impact. And it seems to be expanding, and that is why it is really important to react and to watch, to take preventive measures to prevent various incidents that would be really unwanted," he told journalists on Wednesday.
According to Aleksa, one can look for various reasons for the increasing frequency of such interference, but they are also linked to Lithuania's activities in strengthening its defense and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"We can see that they really do not like what we are doing, strengthening our defense, and what the Ukrainians are doing, and Russia is also taking certain action by sending signals. And here it is really important to distinguish whether these are routine (signals - BNS), or whether they are really malicious. This is obviously closer to malicious and it certainly has the potential to cause a lot of damage," the vice minister pointed out.
For his part, Marius Cesnulevicius, the president's national security advisor, said earlier that the interference with GPS signals, which has hampered aircraft flights in recent months, has to do with Russia trying to defend itself from Ukraine's retaliatory strikes on its territory, and it is not specifically aimed at Lithuania.
Other countries in the region are also facing this problem, Cesnulevicius said.
Earlier this week, 13 EU member states, including Lithuania, called on the European Commission to respond to interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) in EU countries.
The ministers for transport and digital affairs from the 13 countries sent a joint letter to the European Commission, urging immediate and coordinated action in response to interference with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) originating from Russia and Belarus. Following Lithuania’s initiative, the letter also highlights the urgent need to accelerate the deployment of interference-resistant GNSS services, enhance the overall resilience of critical infrastructure, and strengthen safety and security across Europe.
Data from Lithuania's flight management company Oro Navigacija (Air Navigation) show that there were 440 reports on GPS interference in January, a tenfold increase from January 2024.
By Karolina Ambrazaitytė, Paulius Perminas
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Lithuanian president urges not rush to conclusions on PM's ability to continue working
VILNIUS, Jun 11, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda suggests not to "put the cart before the horse" and not to rush to conclusions on the Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas' ability to continue working after the country's Financial Crime Investigation Service launched a pre-trial probe into a soft loan granted to a company co-owned by the premier.
"I think that the more investigations, the better. Now it is important not to put the cart before the horse and to find out the real situation first after assessing all the circumstances, because I see a kind of haste, let's do something sooner, let's make some decisions sooner," the president said in a video comment released by the presidential press service on Wednesday.
"I do see the problem, I am certainly not ignoring it, there is a problem, it seems to me that the prime minister himself is well aware of it, but we need to dot the I's and cross the t's," he added.
The president is set to meet with the prime minister next week.
"I will want to discuss all the issues and hear his explanations, but the investigating authorities should have the final say. It would be great if this could be done as soon as possible," the president said. "Of course, I don't want to rush things as the most important thing is to have it done in a good way."
According to Nauseda, "hasty decisions today" regarding Paluckas' ability to continue working would inevitably mean that the reforms launched by the ruling bloc would either be halted or slowed down.
"We need to take a responsible approach to the governance of our country and not to make decisions with a hot head, but first let's look into all the circumstances," the president said.
On Tuesday, the FCIS launched a pre-trial investigation into a soft loan received by Garnis, a company co-owned by the prime minister, from the national development bank ILTE.
Paluckas is a shareholder in both Garnis and Emus.
ILTE said on Monday that the loan to Garnis followed the required procedures and that its internal review had not found any significant shortcomings.
However, the findings of the review recommended that the developers of financial instruments clarify how related parties are defined and include a requirement for actual capital increases before a financing agreement is signed.
ILTE CEO Dainius Vilcinskas said that no violations had been identified in how the soft loan granted to Garnis was used. Still, he said the development bank continues to cooperate with law enforcement.
The Special Investigation Service (SIS) has started looking into the circumstances following information about the soft loan granted to the company partly owned by Paluckas.
The prime minister previously said he was confident that after ILTE found no irregularities regarding the loan granted to his company, law enforcement agencies would not find any either.
The investigative journalism center Siena (Wall) and Laisves TV reported in late May that Garnis, which plans to produce battery systems, received a 200,000-euro soft loan from ILTE after Paluckas had already taken office.
The prime minister owns 49 percent of Garnis. In February and March, the government made several decisions related to ILTE with his participation.
Paluckas' conduct is also under review by the Chief Official Ethics Commission.
The prime minister denies any conflict of interest and says he is not involved in his companies' day-to-day operations.
He also owns 51 percent of another company, Emus, which would not have qualified for the loan because it has been operating for too long. Garnis would not have been eligible either if it had been formally part of the same company group as Emus.
Questions have also been raised publicly about whether Garnis was created as a front to obtain the loan and whether the company is using the funds as intended.
Among other things, Andrius Tapinas, a journalist and public figure, said he has correspondence between an unnamed company and representatives of Garnis and Emus, both partly owned by Paluckas.
According to Tapinas, the unnamed company was paid with funds from Garnis' soft loan from ILTE, but the goods were delivered to Emus, which was not eligible for the financing.
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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, June 12, 2025
VILNIUS, Jun 12, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, June 12, 2025:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to pay a visit to Vietnam.
INTERIOR MINISTER Vladislav Kondratovic to attend a meeting of EU justice and home affairs ministers in Luxembourg.
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