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LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN, April 25, 2023

Apr 28 2023

LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN


IN THIS ISSUE:

  1. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, April 25, 2023
  2. Fourteen irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus
  3. Lithuania’s Tripartite Council to open discussion on minimum wage increase in 2024
  4. Lithuanian MPs plan to enshrine in law existing policy of turning away irregular migrants
  5. Lithuania reports 155 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths
  6. Presidential office: electricity system test brings Lithuania closer to Western Europe
  7. US Palantir Technologies to set up regional hub in Vilnius, partners with DefMin
  8. Lithuanian formin says issue 'closed' after China clarifies ambassador's remark
  9. Lithuanian parlt to go back to issue of decriminalizing small amounts of cannabis
  10. New defense plans not yet approved, so 'I'd keep champagne in fridge' – Lithuanian formin
  11. Lithuanian MPs enshrine in law existing policy of turning away irregular migrants
  12. NGOs will ask Lithuanian president to veto amendments on turning away irregular migrants
  13. Lithuanian MPs start voting on raising value threshold for contraband shipments
  14. Lithuanian parlt to debate allowing weapons manufacturers to settle down in FEZs
  15. Lithuania's minimum wage could rise 13 pct to EUR 953 next year – c. bank 
  16. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, April 26, 2023
  17. Ukraine expects clear time frame for NATO accession – parlt speaker 

Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, April 25, 2023

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Tuesday, April 25, 2023:

PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to address Baltic Miltech Summit 2023 participants at 9 a.m. 

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, on a working visit to the Czech Republic, to take part, at 9:30 a.m., in the second meeting on the EU's role in global cooperation among democracies, and EU member states' dependence on totalitarian regimes.

THE SEIMAS to hold plenary sittings at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. 

PRIME MINISTER Ingrida Simonyte to meet with Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman at 1 p.m. 

 

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Fourteen irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have in the past 24 hours turned away 14 migrants attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Tuesday morning.

Latvia reported 28 attempts at illegal border crossings on Monday, and 61 irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Sunday, according to the latest available information.

A total of 893 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year. Over 11,200 irregular migrants were turned away in 2022.  

Lithuanian border guards have prevented around 20,200 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were given the right to turn away irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border.

The SBGS says that illegal migration to Lithuania and the EU is being facilitated by Belarusian officials. 

Almost 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally in 2021. However, the vast majority of them fled Lithuania once they were allowed to move freely.

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Lithuania’s Tripartite Council to open discussion on minimum wage increase in 2024

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Lithuania's Tripartite Council representing the country's government, employers and employees, will on Tuesday open discussion on the increasing of the minimum wage in 2024.

According to Vytautas Silinskas, Deputy Minister of Social Security and Labor chairing the Council, experts from the Bank of Lithuania have been invited to attend the meeting of the Council to present the central bank’s estimates concerning potential minimum wage increases.

The Tripartite Council has agreed that the minimum monthly wage should stand at 45-50 percent of the average salary, and the specific ratio should be equal to the three-year average ratio of one-fourths of EU member states with the largest ratios between the average salary and the minimum wage.

Inga Ruginiene, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, stated on the eve of the Council’s meeting that the ratio between the minimum wage and the average salary should be at least 50 percent next year.

Meanwhile, Ricardas Sartatavicius, head of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, said he would propose to the Council to change the minimum wage formula in the first place by adding labor productivity to the calculations.

This year, Lithuania’s minimum monthly wage stands at 840 euros.

By Erika Alonderytė-Kazlauskė

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Lithuanian MPs plan to enshrine in law existing policy of turning away irregular migrants

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania will on Tuesday vote on enshrining in law the existing policy of turning away irregular migrants at the border under a state-level extreme situation regime or a state of emergency.

This will be the final vote on the adoption of the proposed legislative amendments.

Drafted by the Ministry of the Interior, the proposed amendments to the Law on the State Border and the Guard Thereof would consolidate the existing practice of turning away migrants at the border, which was initially carried out on the basis of the interior minister's order issued in 2021 and was later formalized by a respective resolution of the government.

The amendments have drawn criticism from human rights organizations, which say that the legislation would legitimize expulsions, a practice that violates international law.  

Amnesty International said last week that the law would "green-light torture".

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry, the initiator of the bill, says that the amendments make a clear distinction between natural migration and the instrumentalized migration facilitated by the Belarusian regime and that the legislation is necessary to safeguard Lithuania's national security interests.

The ministry also says that the law puts in place safeguards for vulnerable persons.

The amendments would introduce a possibility to refuse entry to Lithuania during a state-level extreme situation, introduced due to an influx of foreigners, to those foreign nationals who intend to cross or have crossed the state border at places that are not designated for that purpose or at places designated for that purpose but having violated the procedure for crossing the state border. 

According to the bill, the provision on turning away people would be applied individually to each foreigner and would not apply in certain cases to ensure the entry or humanitarian access to Lithuania's territory for foreigners fleeing military aggression or persecution.

An assessment of the need for assistance would have to be carried out for foreigners who have not been allowed to enter. If found to be in need, migrants would have to be provided with necessary urgent medical or other assistance. 

Also, the proposed amendments would allow turning away irregular migrants only along the border – up to five kilometers inland.

Lithuanian border guards have prevented around 20,200 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were given the right to turn away irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border.

Almost 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally in 2021. However, the vast majority of them fled Lithuania once they were allowed to move freely.

The State Border Guard Service (SBGS) says that illegal migration to Lithuania and the EU is being facilitated by Belarusian officials. 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 5 239 64 16, Vilnius newsroom


Lithuania reports 155 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Lithuania has recorded 155 new coronavirus infections and no deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Tuesday morning.

The 14-day primary infection rate has edged up to 66.7 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 10.8 percent.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals now stands at 74, including three ICU cases.

The daily number of new coronavirus cases remains well below the peak of over 14,000 reached in early February 2022.

More than 1.18 million people in Lithuania have tested positive with COVID-19 at least once.

Some 69.8 percent of people in the country have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 5 205 85 08, Vilnius newsroom


Presidential office: electricity system test brings Lithuania closer to Western Europe

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The presidential office commends the isolated operation test of Lithuania’s electricity system performed by the country’s electricity transmission system operator Litgrid on Saturday, as it brings closer the synchronization of national electricity grids with the Western European system, Jaroslav Neverovic, presidential adviser on environment and infrastructure, has said.

“We do commend the test, which is not just a historic event. This was the first time Lithuania performed such a test, which was successful and its results make us optimistic about our main goal – the synchronization of electricity grids with Western Europe,” he told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Tuesday.

According to Neverovic, the electricity grids of Lithuania and Poland should operate synchronously as early as next year.

“We should probably speed up synchronization next year and start operating synchronously with Western Europe, with Poland.”

Neverovic pointed out that the test had demonstrated Lithuania’s ability to meet its electricity needs and ensure the security of its grids.

Speaking about the withdrawal from the post-Soviet BRELL agreement with Russia and Belarus, he mentioned additional works that still had to be carried out not just by Lithuania but also Latvia and Estonia.

The adviser also said that Lithuania was not yet considering withdrawing from BRELL and joining the Western systems on its own as it continued to prioritize the joint synchronization of the Baltic countries even if Lithuania were the only Baltic country technically and politically ready for the move.

Lithuania is eager to step up the process of synchronization with Continental European grids and complete it in 2024 but Latvia and Estonia want to stick to the earlier agreed target date of 2025.

By Valdas Pryšmantas

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US Palantir Technologies to set up regional hub in Vilnius, partners with DefMin

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Palantir Technologies, a US-based software and services company, is planning to expand its operations in Lithuania and establish a regional hub of big data competencies in Vilnius, Invest Lithuania said on Tuesday.  

The company has entered into a strategic partnership with the Lithuanian Defense Ministry to develop new digital solutions, the government's foreign investment promotion agency said in a press release. 

It quoted President Gitanas Nauseda as saying that "developing new high technology oriented foreign investment opportunities as well as creating partnerships to co-create new technological products important for regional security is a win-win policy".

Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said, "Strengthening Lithuanian expertise in data-driven defense capabilities and becoming a center of excellence within the Baltic States and NATO members will strengthen defense potential and support the development of Lithuania's defense industry and respective ecosystem." 

Alexander C. Karp, co-founder and chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies Inc. and chairman of The Palantir Foundation for Defense Policy & International Affairs, said the technical center in Vilnius "will strengthen not only the nation and its Baltic partners, but also the democratic values which they seek to uphold".

Palantir Technologies will hire highly skilled software engineers in Lithuania.

The Defense Ministry "has agreed to give insights on the possible applicability of products to defense areas and further development", according to the press release. 

 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 5 205 85 11, Vilnius newsroom


Lithuanian formin says issue 'closed' after China clarifies ambassador's remark

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Following Beijing's clarification that its ambassador to France expressed his personal view when he questioned the sovereignty of ex-Soviet nations, the issue is now "closed", Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Tuesday. 

"I think there should be no further continuation. China has officially clarified the ambassador's words, saying that this is his personal opinion. (...) in this case, the issue in closed," Landsbergis told reporters.

"It is, of course, interesting to see quite big differences of opinion in such, I'd say, an experienced diplomatic service," he added. "We had a slightly different idea of free speech in that country, but apparently things do happen." 

Lu Shaye, China's ambassador in Paris, said in an interview with France's news channel LCI last Friday that ex-Soviet Union countries "do not have effective status under international law because there is not an international agreement confirming their status as sovereign nations".

The Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that Beijing respected the "sovereign state status" of all ex-Soviet countries.

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Monday summoned China's diplomats to express their protest over Lu's remark. 

The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the Chinese ambassador’s remark distorts the history of the Baltic states and other countries".

"The three Baltic states were illegally occupied. A law does not arise from injustice (ex injuria jus non oritur) – this is the principle of international law, according to which the end of the illegal Soviet occupation meant the continuity of the Baltic statehood," it said.

 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 5 205 85 08, Vilnius newsroom


Lithuanian parlt to go back to issue of decriminalizing small amounts of cannabis

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania plans to go back to the issue of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis and cannabis-based products for personal use.

Initially, the parliament intended to discuss the proposed amendments last Thursday when it was forced to call off its morning sitting due to a malfunction of the IT system of the Seimas Plenary Chamber. 

Last December, the Seimas approved after debate a proposal to supplement the Code of Administrative Offences with a provision that the unlawful production, processing, acquisition, possession, transport or dispatch of small quantities of cannabis (its parts), cannabis oil, resin, extracts or tinctures without the intention to distribute them is punishable by a warning or by a fine of between 50 and 300 euros.

Fines of between 300 and 1,000 euros could be imposed for repeated offences. In all cases, the cannabis, its parts, oils, resins, extracts or tinctures would be confiscated. 

The health minister would define what quantity of cannabis would be considered as small.

On Tuesday, MPs will review the conclusions drawn by the parliamentary Commission for Ethics and Procedures on the bills decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis and on procedural compliance with the Statute of the Seimas, and will decide later whether to vote on the said proposal anew.

Lawmakers should also later vote on a proposal to remove possession of small amounts of cannabis from the Criminal Code.

The Freedom Party, part of the ruling coalition, has been the most active proponent of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of cannabis – an idea opposed by most of the opposition.

Currently, possession of a small quantity of any kind of narcotic drug is punishable by criminal law. 

An earlier attempt to decriminalize the acquisition and possession of small amounts of narcotic drugs failed through in the parliament in November 2011.

In 2018, the parliament twice rejected amendments aimed at decriminalizing the possession of small quantities of narcotic drugs.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 5 239 64 16, Vilnius newsroom


New defense plans not yet approved, so 'I'd keep champagne in fridge' – Lithuanian formin

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – NATO's new defense plans for the Baltic countries have not yet been approved, so it is too early to celebrate, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Tuesday. 

"We hope that consensus will be reached, because it is not guaranteed yet. Let me remind you that the earlier defense plans stalled for a very long time," he told reporters. 

The minister was referring to the situation a few years ago, when Turkey blocked for some time NATO's updated defense plans of the Baltic states and Poland to push for the labeling of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria as terrorist groups.

"I'd probably keep the champagne in the fridge for now," said Landsbergis.

Last week, the minister called the new plans "a significant step forward",

NATO had worked out new defense plans covering the Baltic states and Poland, and has presented them to member states' representatives. 

In a reflection of NATO's changing strategy, the plans basically provide for defense from the first days of a potential conflict. Previously, the approach was that the Baltic countries should try to hold off a Russian offensive until allied reinforcements can arrive to help them.

Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupsys said on Monday that the new plans were fully in line with Lithuania's expectations.

Rupsys described the plans as "an instruction on how we would deter, how we would fight, when and what military actions we would take (and) how we would react in time and space".

However, Landsbergis said that the plans lacked an element of deterrence.

"We must not forget about deterrence. The deterrent factor is there before the war, so that the plans are not even needed," the minister said. 

"The plan does not cover this element, so we urge (NATO) not to forget what was committed to in the Madrid agreements," he added.  

 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 5 205 85 08, Vilnius newsroom


Lithuanian MPs enshrine in law existing policy of turning away irregular migrants

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania on Tuesday enshrined in law the existing policy of turning away irregular migrants at the border under a state-level extreme situation regime or a state of emergency.

The respective amendments to the Law on the State Border and the Guard Thereof were passed in a vote of 86 to 8 with 20 abstentions. The amendments will enter into force on May 3, if signed by President Gitanas Nauseda.

Drafted by the Ministry of the Interior, the amendments consolidate the existing practice of turning away migrants at the border, which was initially carried out on the basis of the interior minister's order issued in 2021 and was later formalized by a respective resolution of the government.

The amendments stipulate that the government, acting on a proposal from the National Security Commission, may adopt a decision refusing entry to Lithuania during a state-level extreme situation, introduced due to an influx of foreigners, to those foreign nationals who intend to cross or have crossed the state border at places that are not designated for that purpose or at places designated for that purpose but having violated the procedure for crossing the state border.

This provision will be applied individually to each foreigner.

The amendments have drawn criticism from human rights organizations, which say that the legislation would legitimize expulsions, a practice that violates international law.  

Amnesty International said last week that the law would "green-light torture".

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry, the initiator of the bill, says that the amendments make a clear distinction between natural migration and the instrumentalized migration facilitated by the Belarusian regime and that the legislation is necessary to safeguard Lithuania's national security interests.

Laurynas Kasciunas, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, told MPs that the policy of turning away irregular migrants had proved to be effective and stressed, in a comment echoed by Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite, that there were no alternatives to this policy, in view of irregular migration orchestrated by the Belarusian regime.

The amendments allow turning away irregular migrants only along the border – up to five kilometers inland, which was a compromise provision introduced during discussions at parliamentary committees. 

In addition, the amendments provide for exemptions to refusing entry, which include inter alia the entry or humanitarian access to Lithuania's territory for foreigners fleeing not just military aggression but also other threats, such as armed conflicts or persecution.

Lithuanian border guards have prevented around 20,200 people from crossing in from Belarus since August 3, 2021, when they were given the right to turn away irregular migrants. The number includes repeated attempts by the same people to cross the border.

Almost 4,200 irregular migrants crossed into Lithuania from Belarus illegally in 2021. However, the vast majority of them fled Lithuania once they were allowed to move freely.

The State Border Guard Service (SBGS) says that illegal migration to Lithuania and the EU is being facilitated by Belarusian officials. 

By Milena Andrukaitytė

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NGOs will ask Lithuanian president to veto amendments on turning away irregular migrants

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The policy of turning away irregular migrants, enshrined in law by the Seimas on Tuesday, is immoral, Jurate Juskaite, director of the Lithuanian Centre for Human Rights, has said adding that the center, together with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will ask the president to veto respective legislative amendments.

“In our view, these amendments contradict both international law and our own commitments. They are immoral and pose a threat to the life and health of individuals who attempt to cross irregularly into Lithuania and seek asylum,” Juskaite told BNS.

“Together with other non-governmental organizations and academics, we will ask President Gitanas Nauseda to veto these amendments and perhaps the president will listen to our arguments,” she added.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Seimas of Lithuania enshrined in law the existing policy of turning away irregular migrants at the border under a state-level extreme situation regime or a state of emergency.

The amendments to the Law on the State Border and the Guard Thereof stipulate that the government, acting on a proposal from the National Security Commission, may adopt a decision refusing entry to Lithuania during a state-level extreme situation, introduced due to an influx of foreigners, to those foreign nationals who intend to cross or have crossed the state border at places that are not designated for that purpose or at places designated for that purpose but having violated the procedure for crossing the state border.

Juskaite warned that with such legal regulation Lithuania would find itself in a position where “we will risk violating international law”, which could lead to litigation in international courts.

“We view the presidential office as a certain institution of last resort whose word will be decisive,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry, the initiator of the bill, says that the amendments make a clear distinction between natural migration and the instrumentalized migration facilitated by the Belarusian regime and that the legislation is necessary to safeguard Lithuania's national security interests.

The ministry also says that the law puts in place safeguards for vulnerable persons.

Nonetheless, the amendments have drawn criticism from human rights organizations, which say that the legislation would legitimize expulsions, a practice that violates international law.  

Amnesty International said last week that the law would "green-light torture".

Lithuania started turning away migrants at the border with Belarus on the basis of the interior minister's order issued in August 2021. Later, the practice was formalized by a respective government resolution.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +370 645 093 86, Vilnius newsroom


Lithuanian MPs start voting on raising value threshold for contraband shipments

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday started voting on amendments to the Criminal Code that call for quadrupling the value of contraband shipments subject to the most severe penalty for the offence. 

However, the Seimas decided to send the draft amendments back to the parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs after approving a broader definition of the family in the context of criminal offences.

In addition to the perpetrator's spouse, children and siblings, his or her family members will now include the spouse's children and siblings. 

The draft amendments to the Criminal Code provide for changing the level of seriousness of crimes depending on which different penalties are imposed.

Currently, the lightest penalty – a fine or imprisonment of up to four years – can be imposed for smuggling goods worth between 150 and 250 amounts of minimum standard of living (MSL), or between 7,500 and 12,500 euros.

It is proposed to raise the upper limit to 400 MSL, or 20,000 euros.

Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska acknowledges that the amendments, if passed, will allow a dozen people convicted of large-scale smuggling to ask for their sentences to be commuted.

The bill also provides for greater differentiation of punishment. Smuggling of goods worth 400-900 MSL (20,000-45,000 euros) would be punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to six years, and smuggling of goods worth over 900 MSL would be punishable by up to eight years in prison.

Under the current Criminal Code, those who carry larger amounts of contraband, that is, worth over 250 MSL, may face a fine or imprisonment for up to eight years.

The penalties for fraud, embezzlement, undeclared items, and the illegal non-export of goods or products from Lithuania are to be amended accordingly.

 

 

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Lithuanian parlt to debate allowing weapons manufacturers to settle down in FEZs

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania will debate a proposal to allow domestic and foreign defense industry companies to develop technologies and produce various armaments in the country’s free economic zones (FEZs) offering various incentives, including tax incentives, to their residents.

On Tuesday, the parliament agreed to proceed with the debate on amendments to the Law on the Fundamentals of Free Economic Zones in a vote of 101 to zero with six abstentions.

“We want to remove obstacles for Lithuanian manufacturers to develop here the technologies used in the defense industry,” Economy and Innovation Minister Ausrine Armonaite told MPs before the vote.

Draft amendments propose to remove the activities related to ensuring state security and defense as well as to production, keeping or sale of arms, ammunition or explosives, from the list of activities prohibited and/or restricted in free economic zones.

The proposed amendments will now be debated in May.

The said activities have been prohibited in FEZs since 1995.

By Sniegė Balčiūnaitė

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Lithuania's minimum wage could rise 13 pct to EUR 953 next year – c. bank 

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Lithuania's central bank estimates that the minimum monthly wage in the country could rise by 113 euros, or 13.4 percent, to 952.84 euros next year, from 840 euros currently. 

"If a decision were to be taken here and now, we would not see any major risks that would prevent the minimum wage from being raised by the amount," Aurelijus Dabusinskas, head of the central bank's Economy Department, said at Tuesday's meeting of the Tripartite Council.

Based on the Finance Ministry's average wage forecast for March, the ratio of the minimum wage to the average wage should amount to 46.3 percent this year, the official noted.

"The target level for 2023 was to be 50 percent; the decision was to temporarily deviate from that formula," he said.

 The Tripartite Council, which brings together the government, employers and trade unions, has agreed that the minimum monthly wage should amount to 45-50 percent of the average salary.

However, the specific ratio should correspond to the three-year average ratio of one-fourths of EU member states with the largest ratios of the average salary to the minimum wage.

Deputy Economy and Innovation Minister Ieva Valeskaite said that the rations in the other two Baltic countries should also be taken into account when calculating Lithuania's minimum wage. 

Deputy Finance Minister Gediminas Norkunas said that the central bank's proposed 13.4 percent increase in the minimum wage is significant and has yet to be considered by the government.

 

By Erika Alonderytė-Kazlauskė

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Wednesday, April 26, 2023

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Wednesday, April 26, 2023:

PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to pay a working visit to Berlin. 

THE CABINET to hold its regular meeting at 1 p.m. 

DEFENSE MINISTER Arvydas Anusauskas to attend a meeting of Bucharest Nine (B9) defense ministers in Warsaw.

FOREIGN MINISTER Gabrielius Landsbergis to pay a visit to Moldova together with his counterparts from other Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) countries. 

 

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Ukraine expects clear time frame for NATO accession – parlt speaker 

VILNIUS, Apr 25, BNS – Ukraine expects that NATO will set a clear time frame for its accession to the Alliance at July's summit in Vilnius and that talks on the country's EU membership will start this year, Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, said on Tuesday after meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, in the Czech Republic.  

"Ukraine strongly expects that negotiations on our full EU membership will begin this year," Stefanchuk posted on Facebook after the meeting. 

"Ukraine has high expectations for the NATO summit in Vilnius. Its most important outcome should be the definition of the Alliance's vision and a clear time frame for Ukraine's accession to NATO," he wrote. 

The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada said he had personally thanked the speaker of the Seimas for the Lithuanian parliament's "resolution on our earliest possible membership of NATO".

He also thanked Lithuania for its continuous and comprehensive support to Ukraine. 

Cmilyte-Nielsen this week took part in the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in Prague. 

In her speech, she called on the West to support Ukraine's EU membership bid and to continue both political and military support for the country

Lithuania seeks that the Vilnius summit offer Ukraine an invitation to join the Alliance. In a resolution, the Seimas has named this as one of Lithuania's key goals for the summit.

However, the country's officials conducting negotiations have more modest ambitions. They propose that Kyiv's integration into NATO should be carried out gradually in individual areas, recognizing the Allies' possible skepticism about inviting the country at war to join the Alliance.

 

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