LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, July 1, 2025
- Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
- Lithuanian president says having questions for PM after journalistic investigation
- Lithuania has strong trump card in talks with the EC on RDF funds – advisor
- Nauseda: Lithuanian military intel chief dismissed due to clash between 2 persons emotions
- Restrictions on gambling advertising come into force in Lithuania
- Protest staged in Vilnius as Israeli foreign minister visits Lithuania
- Aleknavicius appointed to head Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Center
- FM: Poland intends to strengthen checks at its border with Lithuania
- Police launch administrative probe after Kaunas mayor hits pedestrian
- Lithuania, Israel share security interest as Iran threats democratic world – Budrys
- Israeli FM: EU-Israel dialogue on humanitarian situation in Gaza beginning in Jerusalem
- Lithuania to send in help to assist Latvia in fighting illegal migration
- Lithuania: tax reform to add EUR 344 mln to Defense Fund next year, over EUR 500 mln later
- Lithuania’s PM claims he has Seimas’ confidence, does not intend to test it
- Lithuania focuses on secondary migration as Poland steps up border checks – minister
- Lithuanian border guards report sharp rise in secondary migration from Belarus via Latvia
- Lithuanian president vows to make his stance on PM known after institutional assessment
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, July 2, 2025
Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, July 1, 2025
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Tuesday, July 1, 2025:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to meet with PRIME MINISTER Gintautas Paluckas at 1 p.m.
FOREIGN MINISTER Kestutis Budrys to welcome his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar: the two ministers to hold a joint press conference at the Foreign Ministry at 11.30 p.m.; to visit the Paneriai Memorial to honor Holocaust victims at 3 p.m.
INTERIOR MINISTER Vladislav Kondratovic to pay a working visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Monetengro.
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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
VILNIUS, Jul 01, 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 Tuesday morning.
Latvia reported 108 illegal border crossing attempts on Monday. Poland denied entry to 163 irregular migrants on Sunday, according to the latest available information.
Lithuania has barred 890 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.
Lithuanian border guards have prevented around 23,800 people from crossing illegally from Belarus since the start of the migration crisis triggered by the neighboring country. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border.
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Lithuanian president says having questions for PM after journalistic investigation
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says Gintautas Paluckas has not yet answered questions that arose after a journalistic investigation that revealed his links with businessman Darijus Vilcinskas and loans received by the prime minister's former business.
“The information was provided, but even after the prime minister presented it, I still had questions,” Nauseda told the national broadcaster LRT on Monday.
“The public needs very clear answers that leave no room for interpretation ... so far, this has not been the case,” he added.
The president and the prime minister will meet on Tuesday to discuss the investigation by the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism and Laisves TV into Paluckas' business dealings from more than a decade ago, loans received, and links with Vilcinskas.
Nauseda said he would ask Paluckas “at least two questions” – first of all, about the income declared by the prime minister at the time.
“What is the real situation with the declared income used to purchase real estate? Was it sufficient, and was it declared? It was not entirely clear,” the president said.
He also said he wanted to clarify the real links between the head of the government and Vilcinskas.
“At first, it was as if claimed that there were none. Later, it was clarified that they did exist and that it was essentially Vilcinskas' idea [to develop a lake bottom topography project], which both partners attempted to implement,” Nauseda said.
The country's leader stated that in such a situation, it is important for politicians to speak accurately, and if they cannot remember some of the information, they should “take a certain pause” and provide answers later.
“Because any new question or doubts about the answer that has been given will give rise to a whole bunch of new questions, and then there will be no end to it. It is in the prime minister's own interest to communicate very precisely,” Nauseda stressed.
“Unfortunately, we see that recently, both the prime minister and perhaps some ministers have sometimes lacked this communication, and this makes the already heated atmosphere even more heated,” he added.
However, he refrained from commenting on the information that has been made public so far, arguing that it would be necessary to wait for the conclusions of the authorities investigating the circumstances surrounding the preferential loan received by a company partly owned by Paluckas.
He emphasized the same point when asked whether Paluckas would be able to continue in his position as prime minister if the information published by journalists was confirmed, or at least partially confirmed.
“Perhaps the conclusions will be favorable to the prime minister and there will be a single option. If they are unfavorable, I believe that the prime minister himself will understand his responsibility,” Nauseda said.
“There is always a possibility for any politician to have to step down for one reason or another,” he said when asked to clarify whether he ruled out the possibility that the prime minister might have to leave office.
The president also said that the information published by journalists could be added to the ongoing investigation by the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) into a 200,000-euro soft loan granted by the national development bank ILTE to Garnis, a company partly owned by Paluckas.
According to the latest investigation by Laisves TV and the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism, in 2013, Paluckas acquired and managed Sagerta, a recently established company that was carrying out the lake bed topography project MyLakeMap.
According to the investigation, the business was not a success, and the company was granted 180,000 euro in loans between 2013 and 2017, which the company eventually failed to pay back.
The loans were allegedly given by Uni Trading, but the investigation has failed to establish who owned and managed the company. Neither Paluckas, nor Vilcinskas claimed to know this, although the latter represented Uni Trading's interests for some time, according to documents from Center of Registers.
Vilcinskas says that Uni Trading was in fact a shareholder in Sagerta from the first weeks of its operation, but due to a human error, this was not registered in the Center of Registers.
The investigators say that the management structure of Uni Trading - especially in the early years of the financing of Sagerta - raises many questions. At that time, the company was managed through another Lithuanian company, Amber Realty Investments, which in turn was controlled through a Cypriot company, Bitus Holdings Limited.
According to the investigation, Paluckas and Vilcinskas also had other links. In 2012, the politician purchased a 127 square meter apartment in Trinapolis Street in Vilnius from Verslo Investiciju Projektu Centras, a company headed by Vilcinskas.
According to the data Siena received from the Center of Registers, the value of the transaction amounted to 223,000 euros. Both Vilcinskas and Paluckas claimed that the purchase was made using legitimate funds and a bank loan.
Moreover, in the summer of 2018, after Paluckas finally left Sagerta as a shareholder and became a vice mayor of Vilnius, the Vilnius authorities decided to take over the burnt-down Profsajungu Rumai (Trade Union Palace) in Vilnius for public purposes from VIPC Vilnius, a company linked to Vilcinskas, for almost 6 million euros.
The National Concert Hall is now being built in its place.
Vilcinskas explained to journalists that he was no longer involved in the management of VIPC Vilnius in any capacity that year.
According to the investigation, in his written comments, Paluckas has repeatedly stated that he had no common business with Vilcinskas. The latter says that Paluckas is a family friend.
Paluckas said in comments on the said investigation on Monday that such investigations are a “form of business”. Meanwhile, opposition representatives claim that the prime minister cannot continue in his position and call on the president to take a principled look into this situation.
Following this journalistic investigation, the Prosecutor General's Office announced on Monday that it had instructed the Special Investigation Service (SIS) to clarify the circumstances related to the prime minister's previous business activities and ties with business representatives.
The SIS reported that after clarifying the circumstances, it would decide whether to launch a pre-trial investigation.
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Lithuania has strong trump card in talks with the EC on RDF funds – advisor
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS - Lithuania will receive about 0.5 billion euros in additional revenue after the adoption of tax amendments by the Seimas, which is a strong argument when talking to the European Commission about the frozen Recovery and Resilience Facility funds, presidential advisor Vaidas Augustinavicius says.
"The fiscal effect is considerable, as the Finance Ministry says, it will be about half a billion euros in 2027 and beyond, so in our opinion the fiscal effect in the current geopolitical environment, looking at the neighboring countries, has exceeded expectations," he told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Tuesday.
"Lithuania has a strong trump card when talking to the European Commission about the RRF funds, because half a billion from tax reform in a socially responsible way is a significant change and a significant argument for the European Commission," he added.
The EC has frozen 400 million euros in RRF funds pending Lithuania's adoption of tax changes, notably the introduction of a universal property tax.
Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius also expects the EC to release the RRF funds after assessing the legalized allocation of part of the property tax revenue to defense, as well as other changes, such as the taxation of some insurance contracts.
In June, Lithuanian lawmakers adopted amendments to the personal income tax, corporate income tax, real estate tax, introduced the so-called sugar tax and taxed non-life insurance contracts. The changes were later signed by President Gitanas Nauseda.
Sadzius has said that the state would receive about 250 million in additional revenues from higher taxes next year and 600 million euros in 2027.
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Nauseda: Lithuanian military intel chief dismissed due to clash between 2 persons emotions
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene dismissed military intelligence chief Elegijus Paulavicius from his post last week due to a clash between “two people's emotions”, President Gitanas Nauseda said adding that he himself had no complaints about the colonel.
“... at some stage, it seems that the emotions of two people clashed and led to what we are seeing now,” Nauseda told the national broadcaster LRT on Monday.
The country's leader said he had not seen any problems in the work of the director of the Second Investigation Department under the Defense Ministry, Lithuania's military intelligence service.
“During all that time I worked with Paulavicius in various formats—whether he came to present information to me, participated in State Defense Council meetings, presenting materials, or when I simply came into contact with his activities and learned about them from third parties— I never saw any problems,” the president said.
“Questions naturally arise: why did Paulavicius work without complaint during all those years, and why did this avalanche of dissatisfaction and complaints suddenly hit him in his last weeks on the job? You have to admit, it's a little unnatural,” he added.
Last week, Sakaliene moved Paulavicius to the Defense Ministry's temporary reserve of professional military service personnel, even though his term was due to end in August.
On Thursday, the minister told reporters that she was forced to take this step after receiving complaints from employees about “very serious irregularities” and added that Paulavicius could not continue working in this position while the investigation into the treatment of his subordinates was ongoing.
According to Sakaliene, the situation in the department deteriorated after she refused to appoint Paulavicius for a second term.
The Lithuanian Seimas Committee on National Security and Defense on Friday questioned the lawfulness of the dismissal of Colonel Paulavicius as head of the country's Second Investigation Department under the Defense Ministry and decided to ask the Defense Ministry for all related documents.
According to media sources, Colonel Mindaugas Mazonas, former commander of Lithuania's Special Operations Forces, is expected to be appointed head of the Second Investigation Department in August, succeeding Paulavicius.
Nauseda said that non-appointment of Paulavicius for a second term does not mean that he did a poor job.
Paulavicius has been temporarily replaced by his first deputy Petras Zaptorius until the end of Paulavicius' term.
Colonel Paulavicius was appointed head of military intelligence in August 2020. His term of office would have expired in mid-August.
The Second Investigation Department is one of Lithuania's two intelligence services and is responsible for ensuring and strengthening national security in the defense sector.
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Restrictions on gambling advertising come into force in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS - Stricter requirements for gambling advertising come into force in Lithuania on Tuesday.
According to the Gaming Control Authority, the changes are transitional before a full ban on gambling advertising comes into force in 2028. Until then, gambling advertising will be restricted but allowed. The aim is to make gambling less accessible and reduce its harm to society.
"The aim of the amendments to the Gaming Law is to reduce the accessibility of gambling and the harm it causes to society,” Sandra Vitkeviciute, an advisor at the GCA, told BNS.
From July 1, gambling organizers will be able to advertise their names and brands only on their headquarters or gambling venues, while other external advertising is banned. Companies will also be able to advertise their name and trademark on their website.
Only publications dedicated to the gambling business will be allowed to publish information about gambling.
Only betting advertisements will be allowed on TV, radio and the internet, but advertisements will be limited to 15 seconds and aired no more than three times an hour between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., and no more than twice an hour between 6 p.m. until midnight.
Online betting advertisements will not be able to link to the organizers' websites, and restrictions on the space available for its advertisements will be introduced. Such ads will also not be able to appear in pop-up windows that cover the content.
From July, gambling operators will continue to be able to sponsor sporting events, organizations, broadcasts of competitions and athletes, as well as cultural or artistic events and their broadcasts.
However, the names of gambling companies can no longer be used in the names of sports clubs or leagues, but they will still be allowed to appear next to the sponsored club or athlete.
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Protest staged in Vilnius as Israeli foreign minister visits Lithuania
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS - Around thirty people are protesting against Israel's policy outside the Foreign Ministry in central Vilnius on Tuesday as Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visits Lithuania.
"We are here because a representative of a government accused of genocide is visiting Lithuania. A foreign minister who denies genocide, who denies that people are being starved to death, even though international human rights organizations have been talking about Israel committing genocide in Gaza for a long time. It is also carrying out an illegal occupation of Palestine," Ajus Jurgaitis, 29, a human rights expert, told BNS.
"As a country that has suffered from occupation, it is simply shameful to see our government supporting and backing another state that is committing occupation and genocide," he said.
Split into two groups, protesters are holding placards reading "While Europe funds, Israel bombs", "Stop genocide", "From Ukraine to Palestine occupation is a crime", "One day everyone will always be against this", "Sanctions on Israel", "Let Gaza live", "its not two-sided genocide", “This is not a war not a conflict, it is genocide".
Protesters are beating a drum and chant "Since when does Lithuania support the occupier", "Stop bombing children", "Free free Palestine".
There are several police vehicles and officers from other agencies outside the ministry as well.
According to Jurgaitis, such visits should not take place when "the (Israeli - BNS) government is accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity".
Jaroslav, 18, who is about to join the army, told BNS that he is protesting because "genocide is happening, that's it".
"That is why I did not like (Prime Minister Gintautas - BNS) Paluckas' statement that what we, Lithuanians, can do if we recognize Palestine. Because this is related to the history of Lithuania. We are a small country and we have to save other small countries that are oppressed by the empire," the young man said.
Jurgaitis made similar demands for the government, saying that even if the recognition of another state would not have a material effect, it would show Lithuania's value position.
Saar's visit to Lithuania comes amid tensions in the Middle East as the Jewish state continues its attacks in Gaza and as Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire earlier this month after a 12-day war.
Following the European Union's decision to review its cooperation agreement with Israel over alleged human rights violations in the Gaza Strip, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said last week that the timing was not right for that.
Brussels took the steps after the majority of EU foreign ministers backed the move at their meeting in a bid to put pressure on Israel. Lithuania opposed it.
On the other hand, Lithuania's top diplomat acknowledges that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip cannot be ignored.
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Aleknavicius appointed to head Lithuania’s National Cyber Security Center
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene appointed Antanas Aleknavicius as director of the country’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry said in a press release.
He won a public competition for the position.
Before the appointment, Aleknavicius served as deputy director of the NCSC.
During his term, the new NCSC director plans to focus on preparing to coordinate major cyber security crises by drawing on a larger network of partners both within the country and internationally.
“Cyber attacks do not respect borders or sectoral divisions. Examples from around the world in recent months show that a crisis can affect several countries and different sectors at the same time, disrupting critical services to the public. Therefore, one of my main tasks is to further improve the cyber crisis response model and test it periodically in exercises,” the press release quoted Aleknavicius as saying.
Aleknavicius succeeds Liudas Alisauskas as head of the NCSC.
After Alisauskas left the NCSC in March, Aleknavicius led the organization on an acting basis.
As deputy director of the NCSC, Aleknavicius coordinated cyber incident management, led resilience-building projects, and participated in the drafting of the new Cyber Security Law and the transposition of the provisions of the European Union's NIS2 Directive into Lithuanian national law.
Before joining the NCSC in 2023, Aleknavicius spent more than a decade working at the Defense Ministry, where he headed the Cyber Security and Information Technology Policy Group and a division in the Legal Department.
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FM: Poland intends to strengthen checks at its border with Lithuania
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Warsaw intends to strengthen border controls between Lithuania and Poland, Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys has said.
“Yesterday, I received a message from Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski that the Polish government intends to adopt a decision today to apply enhanced checks at the Lithuanian-Polish border, as well as at the Polish-German border,” the Lithuanian top diplomat said at a news conference in Vilnius on Tuesday.
According to him, Poland is planning this step in view of the situation regarding irregular migration, the number of detainees, and certain tensions arising from the measures applied at the Polish-German border.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday that Warsaw might introduce checks on its border with Lithuania. Meanwhile, spokesman for Lithuania's State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said that Lithuanian officials had not been informed of such plans.
Lithuanian border guards recorded no attempts to cross into the country from Belarus illegally on Monday whereas Poland denied entry to 163 irregular migrants on Sunday, according to the latest available information.
By Vilmantas Venckūnas
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Police launch administrative probe after Kaunas mayor hits pedestrian
KAUNAS, Jul 01, BNS – Police in Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas have launched an administrative probe after Mayor Visvaldas Matijosaitis hit a man at a pedestrian crossing while driving his car on Monday afternoon.
"A probe is being launched today," Odeta Vaitkeviciene, spokeswoman for the Kaunas County Police, told BNS on Tuesday.
Matijosaitis is facing a fine ranging between 150 and 300 euros for a violation of the Road Traffic Regulations resulting in minor injuries.
Police have decided not to open a pre-trial investigation into the accident because the victim suffered minor injuries. Police announced on Tuesday morning that the victim, born in 1999, was discharged after receiving treatment in hospital.
According to Vaitkeviciene, the victim is a Russian citizen.
Matijosaitis hit the man at a pedestrian crossing around noon on Monday as he was driving his Rolls-Royce. The mayor sincerely apologized to the pedestrian after the incident and claimed that the incident was caused by a lack of attention and a lack of horizontal markings on the newly laid asphalt. The mayor said that he was driving slowly enough but did not see the pedestrian when changing lanes.
In the winter of 2018, Matijosaitis also hit and injured a pedestrian while driving his car.
The mayor’s car then knocked down an 80-year-old man near the crosswalk in downtown Kaunas, Lithuania's second-largest city. The man sustained minor injuries.
Matijosaitis promised at the time that he would no longer drive during working hours.
In addition, in the fall of 2016, the mayor was involved in an incident when he allegedly failed to yield to a pedestrian crossing the street. A witness then said he saw a man standing on the crossing, leaning against a black car and banging on the bonnet, angry at the driver.
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Lithuania, Israel share security interest as Iran threats democratic world – Budrys
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS - Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for international terrorism pose a threat to the entire world, and therefore Lithuania and Israel share the same interest of ensuring security, Lithuania Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys says.
"We understand that Iran has posed and continues to pose an existential threat to Israel. Iran's nuclear program is a danger to the whole world, and we have every reason to support all efforts to end it in order to make the world more secure and stable," Lithuania's top diplomat said on Tuesday after his meeting with visiting Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
"The ballistic missile program poses a threat and we also see Iran's activities in support of international terrorism (...). Therefore, this whole situation must be used to ensure our common security interests, and in this area our interests coincide with Israel's interests and the interests of the whole democratic world," he added.
The meeting mainly discussed the situation in the Middle East, Budrys said, adding that the latest military escalation between Iran and Israel has brought great instability to the region and to the world.
Earlier this month, the two countries agreed on a ceasefire after 12 days of war.
The end of this war has created a new opportunity to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas with a view to putting an end to the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
As Israeli attacks on the Palestinian enclave continue and Israel seeks to completely destroy Hamas, Budrys says he understands that "not everything is going as smoothly as we would like".
"The minister assured me that efforts are being made by Israel to improve those conditions. Lithuania's interest is that those efforts are stepped up," he said.
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Israeli FM: EU-Israel dialogue on humanitarian situation in Gaza beginning in Jerusalem
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Dialogue between the European Union (EU) delegation and Israel on the humanitarian situation in the war-torn Gaza Strip is beginning in Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said while visiting Lithuania on Tuesday.
He made the announcement after a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Kestutis Budrys in Vilnius.
The Israeli minister described the dialogue as “an effort not only to exchange views but maybe to see how we can work together to improve the situation”.
“I engaged with EU High Representative Kaja Kallas to begin this dialogue that we will begin today in Jerusalem between the EU and Israel on the matter,” he said adding that this issue had also been discussed in previous phone conversations with Budrys.
Saar's visit to Lithuania comes amid tensions in the Middle East as the Jewish state continues its attacks in the Gaza Strip following a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Iran earlier this month, ending 12 days of fighting between the two countries.
Following the European Union's decision to review its cooperation agreement with Israel over alleged human rights violations in the Gaza Strip, Budrys said last week that the timing was not right for such actions.
Brussels took the steps after the majority of EU foreign ministers backed the move at their meeting in a bid to put pressure on Israel. Lithuania, for its part, opposed this initiative.
On the other hand, Lithuania's top diplomat acknowledged that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip cannot be ignored.
Israel, for its part, accuses the Palestinian militant group Hamas of appropriating aid intended for the population.
“Our aim is to defeat Hamas. We don’t want Hamas to use the humanitarian aid as an economic asset to empower its war machine, but we want it directly to go to the people of Gaza,“ Saar said while visiting the Foreign Ministry in Vilnius.
With Israel continuing to pound the Palestinian enclave, US President Donald Trump has begun stepping up his push on the Israeli government to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza.
Talks between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly faltered over a major sticking point — whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire agreement.
The last meeting between the Lithuanian and Israeli foreign ministers took place in March 2023 in Israel.
By Deividas Kubikis, Paulius Perminas
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Lithuania to send in help to assist Latvia in fighting illegal migration
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS - Lithuania is sending officers to Latvia to help the neighboring country fight illegal migration, the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday.
On the order of Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic, police office and border guards are being sent to Latvia to help it deal with secondary illegal migration orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.
According to the ministry, eight Lithuanian police officers have already started their service in Latvia. Lithuanian border guards will soon also start assisting the Latvian Border Guard Service. The exact number is not yet clear.
According to the State Bore Guard Service, Lithuania is facing so-called secondary migration where foreigners who have entered Latvia illegally from Belarus travel via Lithuania and Poland to Western Europe. 352 such irregular migrants were detained in the first half of this year.
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Lithuania: tax reform to add EUR 344 mln to Defense Fund next year, over EUR 500 mln later
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Tax changes adopted by the Seimas of Lithuania will add approximately 344 million euros to the country’s Defense Fund next year and more than 500 million euros annually in subsequent years, according to forecasts by the Finance Ministry.
According to the estimates provided by the ministry to BNS, 343.7 million euros in revenue from tax changes alone is expected to be allocated to the Defense Fund in 2026, 512.7 million euros in 2027, and 524.2 euros million in 2028.
“Approximately 0.5 billion euros will be allocated additionally to defense from 2027, which will account for more than 90 percent of all additional budget revenue that will be received after the adoption of amendments to tax legislation,” the ministry said in a comment sent to BNS.
In June, Lithuanian lawmakers adopted amendments to the personal income tax, corporate income tax, real estate tax, introduced the so-called sugar tax and taxed non-life insurance contracts as well as adjusted some value added tax exemptions.
The amendments have already been signed into law by President Gitanas Nauseda.
Previously, the ministry estimated that the adoption of all tax changes would generate an additional 346 million euros for national defense in 2026 and around 509 million euros annually in 2027 and subsequent years.
Editor: Roma Pakėnienė
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Lithuania’s PM claims he has Seimas’ confidence, does not intend to test it
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – With the opposition in the Seimas claiming that Gintautas Paluckas, Lithuania’s prime minister and Social Democratic Party leader, cannot hold office due to potentially non-transparent links and conflicts of interest, he insists that he does not intend to test the confidence of the parliament.
“I am certain that I have the confidence of the Seimas, the coalition is united, the coalition sees what kind of speculation and insinuations are being spread in the public domain, so there is no doubt that any interpellations will fail,” he told reporters on Tuesday after a meeting with President Gitanas Nauseda.
According to him, opposition lawmakers have the right to initiate a no-confidence or interpellation procedure, but he is certain that his coalition partners will not support such initiatives.
The center-left coalition has 86 seats in the 141-member Seimas.
According to Paluckas, he had a “frank conversation” with Nauseda about the shadow cast on him due to his business dealings from a decade ago.
“We had a frank and sincere conversation with the president, discussed all the political circumstances and various initiatives put forward by the opposition,” the head of government said.
On Sunday, the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism and Laisves TV published an investigation raising questions about Paluckas' business dealings from more than a decade ago, loans received, and links with businessman Darijus Vilcinskas.
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Lithuania focuses on secondary migration as Poland steps up border checks – minister
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS - As Poland steps up checks at its borders with Lithuania and Germany, Lithuania is reacting to the situation by intensifying its fight against secondary migration from Latvia, Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic says.
In a comment sent to BNS, he noted that it was Poland's decision to step up checks at the border with Lithuania.
"We have been informed about this and are in close contact at the ministerial level. For our part, we are taking additional measures to combat secondary illegal migration coming from the Latvian side," Kondratovic said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry said that Lithuania is sending police officers and border guards to Latvia at the neighboring country's request.
According to Kondratovic, the police and Public Security Service officers are assisting Lithuanian border guards in carrying out additional checks in both the Latvian and Polish directions.
As BNS reported earlier, Poland said on Tuesday it would introduce temporary checks at its borders with Germany and Lithuania from July 7to stop illegal immigration.
According to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the checks at the border with Lithuania are necessary to stop migrants crossing from Belarus.
According to the SBGS, 352 illegal migrants were detained in the first six months of this year after entering Latvia from Belarus and then attempting to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland. The number jumped 2.5 times from the same period last year.
Warsaw's intention to step up checks at the Lithuanian-Polish border because of the migration situation was announced earlier on Tuesday by Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys who said that the two countries' interior ministers were in contact about it.
According to the data from the SBGS, 5,914 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia this year and have been detained and returned to Belarus. This is almost seven times more than the number of attempts to enter Lithuania from Belarus.
14,975 migrants have already tried to enter Poland this year and have been turned back at the border.
By Dominykas Biržietis
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Lithuanian border guards report sharp rise in secondary migration from Belarus via Latvia
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – A total of 352 irregular migrants who entered Latvia from Belarus and then attempted to reach Western Europe via Lithuania and Poland were detained in the first half of 2025, according to data released on Tuesday by the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service (SBGS).
Compared to the first half of 2024, when 140 such migrants were detained, the flow of irregular secondary migration from Latvia increased by two and a half times in January-June this year.
Of the migrants who traveled via the so-called Latvian route, 157 were detained by Lithuanian officers and 195 by Polish officers. Lithuanian border guards say that they usually hand such migrants over to their Latvian colleagues after completing the necessary procedures.
In the reporting period, the SBGS launched 25 pre-trial investigations into the illegal transportation of people across the state border and detained 31 migrant smugglers. In most cases, the aliens were illegally transported from Latvia and, in one case, from Poland.
Among the aliens detained by border guards in the reporting period, the majority were citizens of Somalia and Afghanistan, 150 and 53, respectively. The SBGS noted a particular increase in the number of Somalis detained, especially compared to 52 irregular migrants from that country detained in full 2024.
Somali citizens questioned by Lithuanian border guards most often say they are traveling from Somalia via the United Arab Emirates to Russia, from there to Belarus, and then seek to enter Latvia, from where they usually travel to Germany.
According to the SBGS, irregular migrants travel illegally from Latvia in groups of several to a dozen people, not only using the services of smugglers, but also traveling by regular buses with foreign or forged travel documents.
According to the SBGS data, 5,914 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia this year before being detained and turned back to Belarus. Meanwhile, Lithuanian border guards have barred 890 irregular migrants from entering from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year, after turning away 1,002 in 2024.
As regards Poland, 14,975 migrants have already attempted to enter the country this year and have been turned away at the border.
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Lithuanian president vows to make his stance on PM known after institutional assessment
VILNIUS, Jul 01, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda met with Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas on Tuesday and says he heard the prime minister's explanations and will present his conclusions after the verdict of the responsible institutions.
"The president heard the prime minister's explanations. The president, just as he said yesterday, will make any assessments after the responsible institutions have presented their conclusions," the presidential press service told BNS.
For his part, Paluckas said after the meeting that he had spoken openly with Nauseda about the business he owned a decade ago casting a shadow on him.
The prime minister also said he has the confidence of the Seimas and has no plans to test it.
On Sunday, Laisves TV and the Siena Center for Investigative Journalism published an investigation into a business of Paluckas owned more than a decade ago, the loans it received and his links with businessman Darijus Vilcinskas.
Following this investigation, the Prosecutor General's Office said it had tasked the Special Investigation Service to look into the prime minister's former businesses and ties with business representatives.
As BNS reported earlier, a pre-trial investigation was earlier opened into possible credit fraud following reports that Garnis, a company co-owned by the prime minister received a soft loan from the national development bank ILTE.
The Seimas opposition maintains that Paluckas cannot continue as prime minister because „the shadow of possible corrupt transactions and connections falls on him". The opposition conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats and the Liberals say undeclared loans, interests and connections could pose a risk to national security.
By Paulius Perminas
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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, July 2, 2025
VILNIUS, Jul 02, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Wednesday, July 2, 2025:
THE PRESIDENT PALACE to host a press conference on childcare at 10 a.m., to be attended, among others, by Katarina Ivankovic Knezevic of the European Commission.
INTERIOR MINISTER Vladislav Kondratovic to continue his working visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo and Monetengro.