LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Russia's grain exports through Latvia do not reach Lithuania – minister
- Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
- Finance minister, CEB governor to discuss investments in Lithuania
- Lithuanian parlt ratifies legal assistance, extradition treaties with UAE
- Lithuania reports 77 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
- Institute to present study on migrants' experiences in Lithuania
- US Switchblade 600 combat drones to be delivered next year – Lithuanian DefMin
- Lithuanian minister attended defense forum in US, met with senators
- Krivas proposed for Lithuania's ambassador to Council of Europe
- SSD warns of attempts to recruit Belarusian opposition in Lithuania via social media (media)
- Lithuania contributes EUR 1 mln to Ukraine via CEB fund (updates)
- NATO jets in Baltic scrambled once to intercept Russian plane
- Proposal to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens registered in Lithuanian parlt
- Lithuania contributes EUR 1 mln to CEB's Ukraine Solidarity Fund (expands)
- Lithuanian DefMin suggests banning troops from traveling to China, Moldova
- Lithuanian finmin expects enough support for final draft budget to pass
- Proposal to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens registered in Lithuanian parlt (further expands)
- Lithuanian DefMin suggests banning troops from traveling to China, Transnistria (corrects)
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Russia's grain exports through Latvia do not reach Lithuania – minister
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS - Amid suspicions that Russian grain is entering the European Union via Latvia, Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Kestutis Navickas says Russian grain is moving in transit and does not enter Lithuania.
Nevertheless, the minister acknowledges that the Latvian government should take action.
Ausrys Macijauskas, the head of the Lithuanian Association of Grain Growers, has called for stronger controls at the Lithuanian-Latvia, border to prevent Russian grain from entering Lithuania.
"Grain from Russia travels by rail and it is very easy to control this as it is visible in the declarations. I have checked and there was certainly concern whether Latvian grain (Russian grain from Latvia - BNS) had not emerged in our port, but there is no such information, and the port has confirmed that there is no Latvian grain," Navickas told the pubic radio LRT on Friday.
Macijauskas says about one million tons of grain have been imported from Russia to Latvia so far.
"The shocking fact is that Latvia, and perhaps other neighboring countries as nobody knows this because there is no control, are importing grain from the aggressor country. (...) Almost one million tons of grain have been imported from Russia," Macijauskas told the radio.
He believes that controls at the Lithuanian-Latvian border should be tightened and that it should be monitored to make sure that Russian grain does not enter Lithuania.
"Clearly, neither we nor, the Latvian government like the fact that this process is taking place, but the question remains open as to why is the Latvian government not taking action," Navickas said.
By Valdas Pryšmantas
Editor: Roma Pakėnienė
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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have in the past 24 hours recorded no attempts to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Monday morning.
Latvia reported 14 attempts at illegal border crossings on Sunday. Poland registered no such attempts on Saturday, according to the latest available information.
More than 2,500 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year.
Lithuanian border guards have prevented a total of over 21,800 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 influx of irregular migrants to the EU's eastern member states from Belarus began in 2021 and is blamed by the West on the Minsk regime.
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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Finance minister, CEB governor to discuss investments in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Carlo Monticelli, the governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), is coming to Vilnius on Monday to meet with Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste to discuss the CEB's investments in Lithuania and the bank's role in providing assistance to Ukraine.
The meeting will include an official signing ceremony for Lithuania's 1-million-euro contribution to the CEB's Ukraine Solidarity Fund and will be followed by a news conference.
The purpose of the CEB's Ukraine Solidarity Fund is to support internally displaced persons and contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The Fund will address various social needs arising from the war, such as ensuring the well-being and integration of internally displaced persons, and rebuilding the social infrastructure of the most important areas of the country.
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Lithuanian parlt ratifies legal assistance, extradition treaties with UAE
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – The Lithuanian parliament last week ratified the country's treaties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on extradition, mutual legal assistance and transfer of sentenced persons.
The Seimas voted unanimously to ratify all three treaties, with 110 votes in favor of two of them and 111 votes in favor of the third.
The treaties, signed last year, will come into force once they have been ratified by both countries.
The Justice Ministry has said the Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters establishes a legal basis for the countries to provide each other with mutual assistance in the investigation, prosecution and trial of criminal cases.
The Extradition Treaty provides for the extradition of persons suspected, accused or convicted of criminal offences, and the Treaty on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons provides for the possibility for convicted persons to serve their custodial sentence in their own country and sets out the conditions and procedures for the transfer of convicted persons.
During the debate on the ratification of the treaties in the Seimas, Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska said that the UAE had already ratified one bilateral treaty on extradition.
Lithuania signed the treaties in order to return Emilija Sedleckaite, a young Lithuanian woman convicted of possessing drugs and sentenced to life in prison in the UAE, to her home country.
Even before the treaties were signed, the Lithuanian citizen was released after her amnesty request was granted by the UAE, following several previous rejections of similar requests.
The Justice Ministry then said that the efforts of several Lithuanian ministries and the diplomatic corps, and Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte's visit to the UAE in October 2021 had contributed to the signing of the treaties.
The UAE is not a signatory to the European Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, so in the absence of a bilateral treaty, there was no legal way for Lithuania to take over a convicted person for further serving of their prison sentence.
By Milena Andrukaitytė
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Lithuania reports 77 new COVID-19 cases, 2 deaths
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Lithuania has recorded 77 new coronavirus infections and two deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Monday morning.
The 14-day primary infection rate has risen to 436.5 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 38.3 percent.
The number of new coronavirus cases hit the peak in Lithuania in early February 2022 when more than 14,000 new infections were recorded daily. Around 1.19 million people in Lithuania have tested positive for COVID-19 at least once.
COVID-19 incidence in Lithuania took an upward turn in mid-September after having stayed at a low level since May.
Two-thirds of the country's population have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab so far, according to the statistics.
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Institute to present study on migrants' experiences in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – The Human Rights Monitoring Institute on Monday is holding a presentation of a study on migrants' experiences and Lithuania's migration policy, and an expert discussion.
"When the so-called migration crisis hit Lithuania in 2021, it became clear that Lithuania was unprepared for the challenge of the migration phenomenon in various senses, both in the short and the long term," the Institute has said in a press release.
"While attempts are still being made to paint the migrant crisis as a 'well-managed hybrid attack crisis', it is important to note that many human rights violations have been committed throughout this period," it said.
"People's rights were violated when they were turned away trying to cross the border, or when they found themselves in Lithuania, when – children, women, men – were deprived of their fundamental rights and freedoms."
The analytical study, carried out by the Human Rights Monitoring Institute together with its partner Mental Health Perspectives, focused on the experiences of migrants in Lithuania and the state's response to irregular migration, according to the press release.
The study highlights the legal, humanitarian and mental health aspects of migration and offers comprehensive recommendations for improving the state's migration policy and practical implementation processes, it said.
"It is important to note that the current policy tramples on the rights of people irregularly arriving across the Belarusian border," the institute said in the press release.
The conclusions of the study and Lithuania's migration policy will be discussed in detail at the National Martynas Mazvydas Library in Vilnius.
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US Switchblade 600 combat drones to be delivered next year – Lithuanian DefMin
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – American Switchblade 600 combat drones will be delivered to Lithuania next year, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
Wahid Nawabi, CEO of AeroVironment, confirmed the news to Arvydas Anusauskas who is currently in the United States.
Lithuania signed a contract for these drones in December 2022.
"We are the first country in the world, after the US itself, to acquire the new Switchblade combat drones. This will be a significant reinforcement of our armed forces with a redeployable capability that will allow us to destroy armored enemy vehicles up to 40 km away. We are already seeing these effects in Ukraine," Anusauskas was quoted as saying in the statement.
On Friday, the Lithuanian defense minister visited the AeroVironment production facility in California where he inspected the equipment under development and discussed possibilities for further cooperation.
Switchblade 600 combat drones are the next generation of long-range combat drones, featuring ultra-precise optics, the ability to stay airborne for up to 40 minutes, and an effective anti-tank warhead capable of destroying heavy armored vehicles, including tanks. This kamikaze drone is capable of destroying targets in a "top-down" attack.
Together with these combat drones, Lithuania is buying drone launching and control equipment, a simulator for personnel training and a maintenance package from the US.
The US is one of the main security allies in the Baltic region and one of Lithuania's main partners in terms of defense acquisitions. Lithuania currently has more than 60 acquisition projects with the US. Each year, US assistance funds allocated to Lithuania and the other Baltic states contribute to the accelerated development of Lithuania's defense capabilities.
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Lithuanian minister attended defense forum in US, met with senators
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas took part in a defense forum and met with members of the Senate during his visit to the United States, his ministry said on Monday.
Anusauskas and top US security and defense officials discussed key existing challenges to the global security agenda at the Ronald Reagan National Defense Forum. The forum focused on the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the war in Ukraine and the challenges and possible responses posed by China.
"Participants agreed that the continued support of US citizens, the capabilities and technological superiority of the defense industry, and rallying allies are key to enabling the US to meet the emerging security challenges now and in the future," the statement said.
Forum participants repeatedly underlined the will of both political parties to continue providing American support to Ukraine and the ability to come to an agreement, even in the context of major political disagreements, Anusauskas said.
"The US needs allies as strong and as committed as Lithuania. From all the US officials I met, I heard an appreciation of Lithuania's defense strengthening and active defense policy, and a strong call to keep up the momentum and to continue the work that has been started," Anusauskas said.
On the sidelines of the forum, the minister had separate meetings with a number of representatives of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Anusauskas also met with former US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, former US Secretary of the US Army Ryan McCarthy, Lockheed Martin Vice President Kathryn Wheelbarger, Palantir founder and CEO Alex Karp and other influential US officials and journalists.
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Krivas proposed for Lithuania's ambassador to Council of Europe
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Andrius Krivas is proposed for the post of Lithuania's ambassador to the Council of Europe.
A respective draft resolution will be submitted to the Cabinet. The decision will then have to be approved by President Gitanas Nauseda.
The Foreign Ministry said that the nomination has been discussed by the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and that the candidate's vetting procedures have been completed.
The search for a new ambassador to the Council of Europe began after Andrius Namavicius was recalled from the position on October 31.
The Foreign Minister then said that the decision to recall Namavicius, a lawyer by profession, was made in preparation for transferring him to Vilnius' embassy to the Netherlands to work with international legal institutions, as Lithuania is involved in legal proceedings at The Hague-based courts.
In Lithuania, ambassadors are appointed and dismissed by the president on the nomination of the government and with the approval of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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SSD warns of attempts to recruit Belarusian opposition in Lithuania via social media (media)
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS - Attempts are being made to recruit Belarusian opposition and businesses representatives in Lithuania via social media, Darius Jauniskis, director of Lithuania's State Security Department has warned.
"We are now witnessing attempts to recruit people using modern means, i.e. via social media. Let's say that Belarusian opposition representatives or business representatives who are here are being recruited and influenced by the Belarusian KGB and the Belarusian so-called GUBOPIK, which I mentioned. They are offered through social media to cooperate with the special services, to provide information about the opposition in Lithuania, and in some cases, sometimes even to pay for certain activities that they did in the past. We clearly see such activities," Jauniskis told the Lithuanian public broadcaster's Dienos Tema (The Topic of the Day) program.
More than 60,000 Belarusians now live in Lithuania.
"If 17,000 a year enter, let's say, with work visas or temporary residence permits, so do the math: we will have about 100,000 in 2025. That is, I would say, is a significant force. Be that as it may, there will obviously come a time, there will come a red line when we will certainly not be able to cope because verification does take time, resources and effort. And there is no guarantee that we can look at everyone, check everyone, and, as you know, you can't put an intelligence agent or a policeman next to everyone," the SSD chief said.
The SSD has included some conclusions, analysis and additional data in its assessment of the growing Belarusian diaspora in Lithuania.
"Now it is up to the politicians and Lithuanian institutions to decide whether or not to level the playing field. It is our duty to warn about the threats. We see great potential for this," Jauniskis said when asked whether equal migration conditions should be set for Belarusians and Russians. He would support this.
In his words, Russian intelligence has been dealt a very severe blow as around 400 Russian intelligence officers working under diplomatic cover have been expelled from various EU and NATO countries.
"In short, it was a big blow, but we see that they are taking up other methods," the SSD director said.
Jauniskis said earlier that the operation of the Belarusian KGB "has reached historical highs and has never been so active", adding that some members of the large Belarusian diaspora in Lithuania are raising certain questions for the security services.
"Moreover, let's not forget that there is also a very large Belarusian diaspora in our country, people who comes here and, in fact, raise certain counter-intelligence issues," Jauniskis said.
By Ingrida Steniulienė
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Lithuania contributes EUR 1 mln to Ukraine via CEB fund (updates)
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste and Carlo Monticelli, the governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), signed in Vilnius on Monday an agreement on Lithuania's 1-million-euro contribution to the CEB's Ukraine Solidarity Fund.
The Fund will support internally displaced persons and contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
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NATO jets in Baltic scrambled once to intercept Russian plane
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS - NATO fighter jets stationed in the Baltic states as part of the NATO Air Policing Mission were scrambled once last week to identify and escort military aircraft of the Russian Federation in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, the Lithuanian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
On November 27, NATO fighter jets took off to intercept an AN-26 flying from mainland Russia to the Kaliningrad region without a flight plan, with its onboard transponder switched off but was in contact with the regional air traffic control center.
The NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states is conducted out from Lithuania and Estonia.
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Proposal to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens registered in Lithuanian parlt
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – A proposal was registered in the Lithuanian Seimas on Monday to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens by putting them on a par with the existing restrictions for Russian nationals, with an exception only for Belarusians with highly skilled jobs.
"Since our intelligence assessment has shown that there is an increased threat from the Belarusian special services, that migrants, who come to Lithuania to work and receive residence permits are possibly being recruited, and they return and receive assignments, and that employees of the security structures also come to Lithuania to do their shady job. We need to protect ourselves and to control the inflow of these migrants as much as possible while stopping it completely," MP Paulius Saudargas, one of the lawmakers behind the new bill, told the BNS.
The amendments to the Law on Imposing Restrictive Measures Regarding the Military Aggression Against Ukraine foresee that the acceptance of applications for temporary residence permits by Belarusian citizens via an external service provider abroad would be stopped, as is currently the case for Russian nationals.
An exception would only apply to Belarusian citizens who intend to do highly skilled jobs included in the list of high value-added professions with a shortage of workers in Lithuania.
These amendments were registered by Laurynas Kasciunas, chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, representing the ruling conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, and his fellow party members Saudargas and Audronius Azubalis, a vice speaker of the Seimas.
The MPs point out that the restrictions would only apply to the first temporary residence permits, i.e. to new arrivals. Meanwhile, old workers who have already received temporary residence permits once in Lithuania would be able to extend them without any restrictions.
"Applications for temporary residence permits from both Russian and Belarusian citizens would not be accepted, with exceptions for cases when a government-authorized body mediates or when people already have Lithuanian or Schengen visas, or if they already have residence permits, or if they are going to do highly skilled jobs included in the list of high value-added professions," Saudargas said.
The lawmakers also argue that, besides dissidents, an admission exception can only be put in place for Belarusians who want to do highly skilled jobs, as allowing everyone on the list of shortage occupations would practically make the restriction useless.
"Foreigners willing to obtain residence permits in Lithuania at any cost would be trying to pass themselves off as representatives of professions in short supply," the MPs say in their explanatory note.
The lawmakers also note that the restrictions do not apply to Russian and Belarusian citizens holding a visa from Lithuania or another Schengen state, as well as to people fleeing persecution and repression by regimes on humanitarian grounds, as well as to those who have obtained visas through the mediation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to the proposed tighter restrictions, Russian and Belarusian democrats and representatives of civil society would be able to apply for a national visa on humanitarian grounds through an external service provider abroad, with the mediation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The MPs point out that such persons can now obtain Schengen visas but they are only issued for a three-month stay, while the national visa is issued for one year.
Lithuania has now a law on restrictive measures for Russian and Belarusian citizens in place, but the latter are subject to fewer restrictions.
Russians and Belarusians are restricted in their ability to obtain Lithuanian visas and electronic resident status, but Russians have additional restrictions on their ability to enter Lithuania, to acquire real estate and their applications for residence permits are temporarily rejected.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda maintained that Belarusian citizens should be subject to the same sanctions as Russians, but the Seimas overrode his veto on the grounds that Belarusian citizens should be subject a more relaxed regime.
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Lithuania contributes EUR 1 mln to CEB's Ukraine Solidarity Fund (expands)
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste and Carlo Monticelli, the governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), signed in Vilnius on Monday an agreement on Lithuania's 1-million-euro contribution to the CEB's Ukraine Solidarity Fund.
The Fund will support internally displaced persons and contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine.
According to Skaiste, the Fund will focus on Ukraine's social and healthcare infrastructure and the reconstruction of residential buildings.
"We see this contribution as part of a broader strategy. Lithuania has allocated more than 1.9 percent of its GDP to support Ukraine through various financial and direct aid instruments. This is one of the highest figures among all countries that provide assistance to Ukraine," the minister said after the signing ceremony.
"In this period, we need to help Ukrainians not only on the military front, but also in the social sphere, where there are many challenges," she added.
Monticelli noted that Lithuania's contribution to the Ukraine Solidarity Fund is among the largest in the world, relative to its GDP.
"With this 1 million (euros) provided to the Ukrainian solidarity fund, we have a clear sign that Lithuania trust us as a solid partner, as effective users of (...) tax payers' money to support Ukraine," the governor told reporters.
"We are particularly honored about this contribution; we see it as a catalyst for further contributions," he added.
Skaiste and Monticelli also discussed the CEB's investments in Lithuania and the bank's role in providing assistance to Ukraine.
According to Skaiste, the CEB invested 313 million euros in Lithuania in 2022.
The CEB's officials say the bank's investments in Lithuania amounted to around 150 million euros this year, with plans to approve a further 57 million euros for the renovation of buildings. In 2024, the bank plans to allocate more funds to Lithuania.
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Lithuanian DefMin suggests banning troops from traveling to China, Moldova
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – As Lithuanian lawmakers consider amendments that would ban the country's professional troops from traveling to unfriendly countries, the Defense Ministry has proposed banning the country's troops from traveling not only to Russia and Belarus, but also from going to Moldova, China and other countries.
The ministry has drafted a resolution for the government to approve a list of foreign countries or territories professional troops would be banned from traveling to for off-duty purposes. The changes would come into force in January.
The list of banned countries would include Russia and its occupied Crimea, Belarus, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, including the Transnistrian region, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Abkhazian and South Ossetian regions of Georgia.
Similarly, professional troops would not be allowed to travel to foreign countries or territories if the Foreign Ministry advised citizens against traveling to these countries or told them to leave immediately.
The draft resolution also proposes defining cases and establishing the procedure under which professional troops would only be allowed to travel to foreign countries or territories included in the above-mentioned list with a permit.
Under the proposed amendments, the government could determine cases, including exceptions due to personal circumstances, and the procedure when professional troops could travel to foreign countries or territories included in the list with a permit or declaration of information on departure.
The Defense Ministry says such a ban has to do with national security interests.
In late September, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center reported that people working with classified information would not be able to travel to Russia, Belarus and other countries that pose a threat to Lithuania.
Some 56,000 people will be affected by these restrictions, the center said.
The move to restrict some Lithuanian citizens from traveling to unfriendly comes amid reports that Belarusian intelligence services have been stepping up their activities at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border for some time already. According to Lithuanian intelligence, Lithuanian citizens are being questioned at border checkpoints and forced to cooperate with Belarusian intelligence services through blackmail and psychological pressure.
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Lithuanian finmin expects enough support for final draft budget to pass
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – As the Lithuanian parliament plans to vote on the draft state budget for 2024 on Tuesday, Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste expects that votes from the ruling coalition will be enough to pass it.
Skaiste believes that the draft budget has been sufficiently well discussed and takes into account the current challenges.
"I don't have a crystal ball, but I'd say that the sharpest corners have been smoothed out. In my opinion, the discussions were quite fruitful, the priorities expressed by members and committees of the Seimas were taken into account, and funding for both roads and non-formal education was increased," the minister told reporters on Monday.
"I'd hope that the final draft budget will receive support from members of the Seimas and that it does reflect the current challenges that we face today," she added.
Skaiste expects sufficient support from coalition partners to adopt the budget.
"Naturally, we count on support from the coalition members because the budget implements the government's program, and since we work together in the government, I believe that the budget should receive the backing of all coalition partners," she said.
Earlier on Monday, the government approved a proposal to increase next year's budget expenditure by around 650,000 euros by raising the net borrowing limit.
The spending increase takes into account only a small portion of MPs' latest proposals totaling 690 million euros.
As a result of the first budget adjustment, next year's projected budget revenue declined by 30 million euros to 16.98 billion euros and expenditure rose by 111 million to 20.6 billion euros, compared to the original draft.
This raised the budget deficit from 2.9 to 3 percent, the upper limit of the Maastricht criteria, meaning that spending can no longer be increased.
By Valdas Pryšmantas
Editor: Roma Pakėnienė
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Proposal to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens registered in Lithuanian parlt (further expands)
Updated version: adds Bilotaite's comment
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – A proposal was registered on Monday to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens by putting them on a par with the existing restrictions for Russian nationals, with an exception only for Belarusians with highly skilled jobs.
"Since our intelligence assessment has shown that there is an increased threat from the Belarusian special services, that migrants, who come to Lithuania to work and receive residence permits are possibly being recruited, and they return and receive assignments, and that employees of the security structures also come to Lithuania to do their shady job. We need to protect ourselves and to control the inflow of these migrants as much as possible while stopping it completely," MP Paulius Saudargas, one of the lawmakers behind the new bill, told the BNS.
Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite says her ministry has consistently maintained its position that sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens should be the same and has no plans to change it, especially after the recent warnings of from the State Security Department about the increased activity of the Belarusian KGB.
"We see what our SSD says, those threats, and we have consistently maintained that position on the threats that may arise from Belarusian citizens entering Lithuania, and we will not change our position, it will remain consistent as it has been so far," Bilotaite told reporters on Monday.
She hopes that the Seimas will take the changed situation into account and put restrictions for Russian and Belarusian nationals on a par, adding that the existing sanctions for Russian citizens are effective.
"Yes, they are effective as the number of people trying to enter the territory of Lithuania has gone down significantly, and we see certain effect, not only here, but also across the region, and given the security situation, we really think it is worthwhile to come back to the issue of the same regulation for Belarusian citizens as well," Bilotaite said.
The amendments to the Law on Imposing Restrictive Measures Regarding the Military Aggression Against Ukraine foresee that the acceptance of applications for temporary residence permits by Belarusian citizens via an external service provider abroad would be stopped, as is currently the case for Russian nationals.
An exception would only apply to Belarusian citizens who intend to do highly skilled jobs included in the list of high value-added professions with a shortage of workers in Lithuania.
These amendments were registered by Laurynas Kasciunas, chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, representing the ruling conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, and his fellow party members Saudargas and Audronius Azubalis.
The MPs point out that the restrictions would only apply to the first temporary residence permits, i.e. to new arrivals. Meanwhile, old workers who have already received temporary residence permits once in Lithuania would be able to extend them without any restrictions.
"Applications for temporary residence permits from both Russian and Belarusian citizens would not be accepted, with exceptions for cases when a government-authorized body mediates or when people already have Lithuanian or Schengen visas, or if they already have residence permits, or if they are going to do highly skilled jobs included in the list of high value-added professions," Saudargas said.
The lawmakers also argue that, besides dissidents, an admission exception can only be put in place for Belarusians who want to do highly skilled jobs, as allowing everyone on the list of shortage occupations would practically make the restriction useless.
"Foreigners willing to obtain residence permits in Lithuania at any cost would be trying to pass themselves off as representatives of professions in short supply," the MPs say in their explanatory note.
The lawmakers also note that the restrictions do not apply to Russian and Belarusian citizens holding a visa from Lithuania or another Schengen state, as well as to people fleeing persecution and repression by regimes on humanitarian grounds, as well as to those who have obtained visas through the mediation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to the proposed tighter restrictions, Russian and Belarusian democrats and representatives of civil society would be able to apply for a national visa on humanitarian grounds through an external service provider abroad, with the mediation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The MPs point out that such persons can now obtain Schengen visas but they are only issued for a three-month stay, while the national visa is issued for one year.
Lithuania has now a law on restrictive measures for Russian and Belarusian citizens in place, but the latter are subject to fewer restrictions.
Russians and Belarusians are restricted in their ability to obtain Lithuanian visas and electronic resident status, but Russians have additional restrictions on their ability to enter Lithuania, to acquire real estate and their applications for residence permits are temporarily rejected.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda maintained that Belarusian citizens should be subject to the same sanctions as Russians, but the Seimas overrode his veto on the grounds that Belarusian citizens should be subject a more relaxed regime.
By Milena Andrukaitytė
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Lithuanian DefMin suggests banning troops from traveling to China, Transnistria (corrects)
Corrected version: corrects headlines, corrects paras 1, 3, new paras 5, 6
VILNIUS, Dec 04, BNS – As Lithuanian lawmakers are considering amendments that would ban the country's professional troops from traveling to unfriendly countries, the Defense Ministry has proposed banning the country's troops from traveling not only to Russia and Belarus, but also from going to the Transnistrian region in Moldova, China and other countries.
The ministry has drafted a resolution for the government to approve a list of foreign countries or territories professional troops would be banned from traveling to for off-duty purposes. The changes would come into force in January.
The list of banned countries would include Russia and its occupied Crimea, Belarus, as well as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, including the Transnistrian region, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Abkhazian and South Ossetian regions of Georgia.
Similarly, professional troops would not be allowed to travel to foreign countries or territories if the Foreign Ministry advised citizens against traveling to these countries or told them to leave immediately.
The registered draft resolution includes Moldova, but the Defense Ministry explained that there was a technical error in the list of unfriendly countries Lithuanian troops would be banned from traveling to.
According to the ministry, the bill state "the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova", instead of "the Republic of Moldova, including the Transnistrian region".
The draft resolution also proposes defining cases and establishing the procedure under which professional troops would only be allowed to travel to foreign countries or territories included in the above-mentioned list with a permit.
Under the proposed amendments, the government could determine cases, including exceptions due to personal circumstances, and the procedure when professional troops could travel to foreign countries or territories included in the list with a permit or declaration of information on departure.
The Defense Ministry says such a ban has to do with national security interests.
In late September, Lithuania's National Crisis Management Center reported that people working with classified information would not be able to travel to Russia, Belarus and other countries that pose a threat to Lithuania.
Some 56,000 people will be affected by these restrictions, the center said.
The move to restrict some Lithuanian citizens from traveling to unfriendly comes amid reports that Belarusian intelligence services have been stepping up their activities at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border for some time already. According to Lithuanian intelligence, Lithuanian citizens are being questioned at border checkpoints and forced to cooperate with Belarusian intelligence services through blackmail and psychological pressure.
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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Tuesday, December 5, 2023
VILNIUS, Dec 05, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Tuesday, December 5, 2023:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to have a phone conversation with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu at 2 p.m.
EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND SPORT MINISTER Gintautas Jakstas to meet with French Ambassador Alix Everard at 4 p.m.
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