Upcoming events for Monday, December 12, 2016 in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – The following events are scheduled for Monday, December 12, 2016 in Lithuania:
PRESIDENT Dalia Grybauskaite going to Kiev on a working visit, which will include meetings with Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko and participation in the 9 th meeting of the Lithuania-Ukraine presidential council.
PARLIAMENTARY SPEAKER Viktoras Pranckietis to meet with heads of bureaus of Seimas committees at 8 a.m.; to greet participants of a human rights conference at 10 a.m.; to meet with Georgia's ambassador at 11 a.m.; to meet with FORMER PRESIDENT Valdas Adamkus at 12 p.m.; to meet with Hungary's ambassador at 1:30 p.m. and to meet with Poland's ambassador at 2:30 p.m.
Ministry of Education and Science, 2 p.m.: meeting of the joint advisory commission of the Lithuanian Ministry of Education and Science and the Belarusian Education Ministry.
Vilnius newsroom,
Lithuania's Labor Party elects new leader
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – Zivile Pinskuviene, the mayor of the Sirvintos district, was elected as the new leader of the Lithuanian Labor Party on Sunday.
In a secret ballot in Kedainiai, central Lithuania, Pinskuviene was supported by 354 delegates of the party's congress. A total of 654 ballot papers were issued prior to the vote.
"I thank you for the confidence. (…) This is not a nomination, this is responsibility. Thank you, you are my power, I take pride in you and we will go up," the party's new leader said in her address to the audience.
The Labor Party has had no leader since resignation of MEP Valentinas Mazuronis following the unsuccessful parliamentary elections in October. Vytautas Gapsys was the party's caretaker chairman, however, decided to cease his membership in the wake of the results of the Sunday's vote.
The Labor Party, which was part of the ruling coalition in the 2012-2016 parliament, failed to cross the required five-percent threshold in the October elections and only has two members in the current parliament, i.e., Valentinas Bukauskas and Petras Cimbaras elected in single-member voting. Both MPs joined the Social Democratic Party's political group.
Vilnius newsroom,
Lithuanian leaders congratulate Bilis on world gold in swimming
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite and Acting Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius on Monday congratulated swimmer Simonas Bilis on winning freestyle 100 m gold in World Championship.
In Grybauskaite's words, Bilis' victory shows the young man's determination and self-confidence. She wished him the championship title to mark the start of solid victories that would take him to the top of the podium.
"I admire your successful starts, instant finishes and iron will that have enabled you to overcome the strongest competitors from across the globe and this time step on the top of the podium by winning a gold medal. I join the rest of Lithuania in celebrating your victory and wish you successful starts in the future," Butkevicius said in his statement.
On the last day of the World Swimming Championship in Canada, the Lithuanian athlete covered 100 meters freestyle in 46.58 seconds, winning the gold medal and setting a new Lithuanian record.
Vilnius newsroom,
Lithuania: Zemaitaitis picked as leader of Order and Justice party
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis, acting leader of the Order and Justice party, was on Saturday elected to head the political force on permanent basis.
In a secret ballot, Zemaitaitis was supported by 463 participants of the party's congress out of the 479 issued ballots.
"I believe it is time for change, I think it is the time to look at things at a different angle. (…) This is the team and the people who can help me. It is a minor step towards the structural reform I have in mind," Zemaitaitis said in his presentation of his deputies.
The party's long-standing leader MEP Rolandas Paksas stepped down from the chairmanship of the Order and Justice party after the first round of parliamentary elections in October. The party barely crossed the five-percent threshold to win mandates in multi-member voting, winning 5.33 percent of the vote. In addition to the candidates elected in single-member districts, the party has eight mandates in Lithuania's 141-seat parliament.
Vilnius newsroom,
VAT privileges for heating faulty - Lithuania's finmin-designate
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – Lithuania's Finance Minister-Designate Vilius Sapoka says that value-added tax (VAT) privileges for heating of homes is a faulty scheme, which will, however, continue until the end of this heating season.
"We will discuss the issue, I have no direct answer yet. But everyone probably understands well that the the character of the privilege is faulty, as it is used by the residents who need the privilege and those who are, in the back of their minds, ashamed of using it," Sapoka said in an interview to BNS.
Asked whether the privilege would be extended until June of 2017, the future finance minister said that a decision would be taken shortly.
In Sapoka's words, the new government will also decide on other VAT privileges, for instance, the 5-percent VAT tariff on expensive medication not compensated by the state.
Currently, the privilege VAT on heating is 9 percent, while the standard is 21 percent.
Vilnius newsroom,
Lithuania buying air defense system simulators from Sweden
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – Lithuania's Defense Ministry has signed a contract with Swedish company SAAB Dynamics on the purchase of the RBS70 simulators, which will be used to train troops.
The simulators, training services and spare parts are estimated at about 5.8 million euros.
"Ministry of National Defense continues modernization of the RBS70 systems which are in service of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. In 2015, we received upgraded launchers and missiles and current contract with SAAB Dynamics will provide our soldiers with advanced simulators. These assets will reduce the training costs but allow to maintain the high level of soldiers' combat readiness," the ministry cited Lieutenant Colonel Juris Gvozdas, deputy director of the Weaponry and Control Systems Department, as saying.
The project also involves the Lithuanian-based Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology, which together with SAAB Dynamics will work on the integration of 3D maps for simulators to visualize real environment for the RBS70 operators.
Short-range air defense system RBS70 simulators will improve the skills of the operators of the Lithuanian Air Defense battalion. In 2015, Lithuanian RBS70 systems were modernized to 4th generation and now can fire upgraded Bolide missiles capable of destroying any type of air borne targets at the distance of 8 km and 5 km in altitude in both – daytime and at night. RBS70 systems include missile complexes with Giraffe Mk-IV surveillance radars.
Lithuania's Air Defense Battalion is also equipped with short-range missile air defense systems Stinger. Lithuania also plans to purchase medium-range air defense systems from Norway.
Vilnius newsroom,
Lithuanian MPs call to invest in cooperation with US amid administration reshuffle
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – Amid changes in the United States administration, a group of Lithuanian MPs said after returning from a visit to the US that Lithuania should raise funding for maintaining ties with the strategic partner and making of new contacts. They say the regional priority should be cooperation with the neighboring Poland.
"We should now strengthen the part of foreign policies intended for the US, as the Trump administration will include 4,000 new people and we should step up all positions to make new contacts, naturally, new people should come here – this applies to cultural attaches, in New York and Chicago, as well as economic diplomats. I believe if the capacities are enhanced and the financing of our embassy is raised, we could improve our relations with the United States considerably," one of the members of the delegation, MP Mindaugas Puidokas of the Lithuanian Peasant and Green Union, said after the visit.
Lithuania's former ambassador to Washington, conservative MP Zygimantas Pavilionis, emphasized that good ties with the US Congress were crucial for Lithuania's defense interests, as the possible changes in foreign and security policy of the administration of US President-Elect Donald Trump are still unclear.
"Whatever the changes of the security or foreign policy are, we will always have support in the Congress, cooperation with the Congress will be crucial, and we should hear or at least make minimum investments in the area, as the Congress doors are very open, however, failing to take the step will deprive us of the historic opportunity to defend our vital interests," said Pavilionis.
Speaking of the purpose of the new parliament's visit to the United States, Social Democrat Gediminas Kirkilas, the chairman of the European Affairs Committee, said it was to assure Washington that Lithuania viewed the partnership with the US as strategic.
Conservative MP Emanuelis Zingeris, chairman of the parliamentary Committee for Relations with the United States of America, stressed that Lithuania had to hurry with its commitment of earmarking at least 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for defense needs.
At the same time, the MPs noted that the US viewed the three Baltic states as a single unit, underlining the need to step up ties with Latvia and Estonia, as well as with Poland.
The parliamentary delegation was in the US on Dec. 3–8 and had meetings with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Bob Corker and members of the committee, Senate Armed Forces Committee chairman John McCain, chairmen of the House of Representatives' Baltic Caucus, John Shimkus and Adam Shiff, as well as members of the body.
Vilnius newsroom,
No comment from Lithuanian Security Dept on US warning of Russian election interferrence
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – The Lithuanian State Security Department has refused to comment on the media reports about the US intelligence warning Lithuania about Russian attempts to tip election results.
"We will not comment on information received from foreign intelligence agencies," Aurelija Katkuviene, spokeswoman for the department, told BNS.
US media company BuzzFeed on Saturday cited unnamed US inte lligence officers as saying that the US intelligence had earlier this year warned Lithuania, Great Britain, France, Germany and the Czech Republic about possible attempts of Russian hackers to affect election results.
Lithuania's for mer defense minister, conservative MP Rasa Jukneviciene, on Monday sent a public letter to security chief Darius Jauniskis with a request "to provide information about Lithuania being informed about Russian attempts to influence the results of the Lithuanian presidential elections."
US intelligence maintains that Russia attempted to help Donald Trump to win the US presidential elections. The president-elect has dismissed the statements as absurd, while Russia says it does not interfere with elections of foreign countries.
Vilnius newsroom,
Nighttime frost, snowfall, sleet, rain in forecast for Lithuania
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS – Rainfall, sleet and snow are expected in Lithuania in the next few days, weather services said, with nighttime frosts forecast for all of the country.
The night to Tuesday will feature moderate precipitation, mainly snow, with black ice and freezing rain in some parts of the country. Western winds and gusts in western Lithuania are in the forecast. The lowest nighttime temperature should be -4--9C (down to -12C in eastern districts and 0-+2C in western Lithuania). The mercury should be at 0--5C during morning hours (around +4C in western Lithuania). Tuesday should bring snowfall and black ice, with weak freezing rain in some parts of the country. The highest daytime temperature will be at -2-+3C (around +4C in western districts).
Wednesday should also bring snow and sleet, with rainfall by the Baltic Sea and some western districts. Windy conditions will continue in western Lithuania. Nighttime temperature should be at -1--6C and daytime temperature should be at -1-+4C.
Lower temperatures and snowfall are expected in the second half of the week.
Vilnius newsroom,
Poroshenko sees Lithuania's role in Ukraine's fight for freedom as important, symbolic
KIEV, Dec 12, BNS - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sees Lithuania's contribution to Ukraine's fight against aggressors in seeking support in the international arena as very important and highly symbolic.
"Sometimes Lithuania's loud voice in the European Commission, the United Nations Security Council and other international organizations helped Ukraine a lot", he said at a joint news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart, Dalia Grybauskaite, in Kiev on Monday.
The presidents chaired a meeting of the Council of Presidents of Lithuania and Ukraine in Kiev as the two countries mark the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.
Poroshenko noted that it was in Vilnius that Ukraine was to sign its association agreement with the EU three years ago. The refusal by Viktor Yanukovych, the then president of Ukraine, to sign the document triggered a civil protest in Kiev that led to the overthrow of his government.
"(Lithuania's) military and technical help, although not very large, was highly symbolic, serving as an example to other countries," Poroshenko said.
Grybauskaite noted that at the end of this week she will take part in an EU summit that will discus the implementation of the association agreement and granting a visa free regime to Ukraine.
The Lithuanian president said that Ukraine has carried out a considerable number of painful but necessary reforms over the past years. In her words, the launch of an electronic declaration system has highlighted the need for placing more focus on combating corruption.
Grybauskaite underlined that deep-rooted corruption is doing Ukraine no less harm than the war in the eastern part of the country.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, Lithuania and Ukraine declared their commitment to further strengthen their strategic partnership.
"Our states strongly condemn the temporary occupation of part of the territory of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – by the Russian Federation and its aggression in Donbas. We call on the international community to continue active political, diplomatic and other efforts for restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity in its internationally recognized borders in the interest of stability and security of the entire Europe," the document reads.
Ukraine's authorities estimate that more than 2,500 military personnel and 7,500 civilians have been killed in the conflict in the eastern part of the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The BNS journalist's trip to Ukraine was paid for by the Lithuanian president's office. This had no impact on the contents of the news report.
Vilnius newsroom,
NATO jets in Baltics scrambled 5 times last week over Russian warplanes
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS - NATO fighter jets serving in the Alliance's air-policing mission in the Baltic countries were scrambled five times last week to identify and escort Russian military aircraft flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
These were mostly Russian transport planes and anti-submarine aircraft. Most of them had their onboard transponders switched off.
The NATO air policing mission in the Baltic states is conducted from Lithuania and Estonia.
Vilnius newsroom,
Lithuanian president says recent Civil Code amendment may breach freedom of speech
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS - Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite says that recently-adopted amendments to the Civil Code regarding liability for making public false information about public figures may violate freedom of speech.
"We have learnt about this from the press. We do not have the bill yet. I will look very carefully at this. At first glance, it appears that even the constitutional provision on the restriction of criticism is violated. There are certain signs that freedom of expression is violated," the president told reporters in Kiev on Monday when asked if she would sign the amendments into law.
The Seimas last week amended the Civil Code to add a provision that allows going to court to claim damages for "degradation of honor and dignity". At the same time, the parliament removed a derogation that exempted one from civil liability for making public false information about a public figure. The decision was adopted with 101 votes in favor, none against and one abstention.
The current Civil Code exempts a person from civil liability for spreading false information about a public figure and his or her state or public activities if that person proves that he or she acted in good faith with the aim of informing the general public about that public figure and his or her activities.
The Seimas left this provision in place, but added a sentence saying that this exemption does not apply when a person's honor and dignity has been impaired by the spreading of false information about him or her.
Vilnius newsroom,
Sweden suspects Lithuanian citizen of spying
VILNIUS, Dec 12, BNS - Sweden has detained a Lithuanian citizen on suspicions of spying, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday.
"We can confirm that this is a Lithuanian citizen who is suspected of spying on a military object in Sweden," Kestutis Vaskelevicius, the ministry's spokesman, told BNS.
He said that Swedish police have informed Lithuania about the identity of the detained person, adding that Lithuanian diplomats have not made contact with the man.
According to the Swedish media, the Lithuanian man was detained last week in a military area close to the town of Balsta.
There is no information as to what state he is suspected of spying for.
Vilnius newsroom,
