LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Nine irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus
- Lithuania's Vinted announces Canadian market exit (expands)
- Conscription reform to be submitted to Seimas of Lithuania
- Lithuania reports 981 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths
- Lithuanian MP Gapsys brought in to parlt from prison to face impeachment
- Balzekas, partners' 4 Bees becomes sole shareholder of Lithuania's 15min
- Lithuanian defmin plays down leaked cable on brigade-related costs
- Lithuanian defmin plays down leaked cable on brigade-related costs (expands)
- Lithuania plans to acquire mobile short-range air defense system from Sweden
- More clarity on German families' accommodation once their number is known – Lithuanian PM
- Lithuanian finmin: revised EU fiscal rules will allow more investment in defense
- Lithuanian parlt fails to strip imprisoned MP Gapsys of his mandate
- Lithuanian parlt gives initial OK to proposed conscription reform
- Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, December 22, 2023
Nine irregular migrants turned away on Lithuania's border with Belarus
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have in the past 24 hours turned away nine migrants attempting to cross into the country from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Thursday morning.
Latvia reported no attempts at illegal border crossings on Wednesday, and 32 irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Tuesday, 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 almost 22,000 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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Lithuania's Vinted announces Canadian market exit (expands)
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Vinted, a Vilnius-based online second-hand fashion marketplace and Lithuania's first unicorn, is pulling out of the Canadian market.
"Vinted will be closing in Canada for now on February 12, 2024, which means it’s no longer possible to register," the company told its Canadian customers in a notice posted on its Canada-based site.
The company said that back in 2021, it launched Vinted in Canada using a different technical platform than in other countries.
"Historically, it has been built on a different platform to the main one. Running a separate platform was not sustainable or efficient," Vinted said.
"After careful and thorough consideration, we have decided to discontinue this platform, which means that we are pulling out of the Canadian market for now," it added.
The company points out that this decision allows it to focus on other markets and strengthen its positions in the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
Starting December 11, 2023, the company no longer accepts new member registrations in Canada due to its upcoming platform closure.
From January 12, 2024, users will not be able to buy, sell, list or favorite new items, write public comments, make or accept offers or follow members.
Until February 12, 2024, users will be able to finalize any ongoing transactions and settle payments, and the customer service team will continue working.
After exiting Canada, Vinted will be available in 19 markets, including Lithuania, the UK, France, Germany, the US, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Luxembourg, Finland, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Hungary and Romania.
In 2019, Vinted became Lithuania's first unicorn, a highly successful start-up valued more than 1 billion euros.
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Conscription reform to be submitted to Seimas of Lithuania
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – A reform of conscription into the armed forces is scheduled to be presented to the Seimas of Lithuania on Thursday.
Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas will present a new version of the Law on Military Conscription and accompanying draft legislation.
Under the new model, the conscription age limit would be set at 18-21 years, instead of the existing 18-23 years, and studies in higher education establishments would not be seen as an exception to postpone military service.
Volunteers would be able to serve so between the ages of 18 and 38, unchanged from now.
Higher education students will be required to perform their service, either by attending the Junior Officer Commanders' training or by joining the National Defense Volunteer Force, thus combining it with their studies. They could also suspend their studies and perform normal service.
The reform also includes the reduction of the existing 9-month service time to six months for some conscripts.
The amendments are also aimed at enabling those who want to serve but are unable to perform compulsory military service because of their health condition. They will have to declare their willingness to serve, and the duration and form of service will be decided by the chief of defense.
In addition, it is proposed to increase the duration of alternative service from 10 to 12 months.
The army estimates that up to 7,000 young men graduate from school each year and are fit for service.
Plans to reform conscription in Lithuania were announced in February, respective bills were registered in August and approved by the government in December.
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Lithuania reports 981 new COVID-19 cases, two deaths
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Lithuania has recorded 981 new coronavirus infections and two deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Thursday morning.
The 14-day primary infection rate has dropped to 520.5 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 34.2 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 1.36 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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Lithuanian MP Gapsys brought in to parlt from prison to face impeachment
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – MP Vytautas Gapsys, a member of the Labor Party political group who was convicted of corruption last month and is serving a prison sentence in Kaunas, was brought in to the Lithuanian parliament on Thursday as lawmakers are set to vote on his impeachment.
Under the Statute of the Seimas, a person subject to impeachment has the right to attend the Seimas sitting personally or represented by a lawyer.
At least 85 of the 141 lawmakers need to vote in favor for an MP to be stripped of their mandate.
As Gapsys is serving a prison sentence, the impeachment process is simplified, i.e. taking place without the need to turn to the Constitutional Court.
Last month, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal sentenced Gapsys to four years and six months in prison for corruption offenses, and he is currently serving his time in Kaunas Prison.
The court found that Raimondas Kurlianskis, a former vice president of MG Baltic (now MG Grupe), had asked Gapsys to use his position as an MP and influence his fellow MPs to influence other civil servants, including the then speaker of the Seimas, members of the Labor Party group in the Seimas, the leadership and members of the Seimas Committee on Budget and Finance, and the agriculture minister, when performing their duties, to act legally and illegally as Kurlianskis requested.
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Balzekas, partners' 4 Bees becomes sole shareholder of Lithuania's 15min
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS - 4 Bees, a holding company owned by Tomas Balzekas, Martynas Basokas, Gabriele Burbiene and Tomas Bindokas, has become the sole shareholder of the 15min group in Lithuania, the company said on Thursday.
4 Bees has acquired the remaining 60 percent of the shares from Estonia's Postimees Grupp. The two have co-owned the 15min group since September 2021.
15min owns the namesake news website and the print magazines Zmones, Legendos and Ji.
Up until now, 4 Bees has held a 40 percent stake and had the control of 15min.
BNS, which operates a news agency under the same name, will remain a subsidiary of 15min.
The value of the transaction has not been disclosed, but Toomas Tiivel, CEO of Postimees Grupp, says 4 Bees made an acceptable offer for the remaining shares.
"The 15min group's management team has been successfully developing the group's companies and its willingness to buy all the shares demonstrates its confidence in the future of the Lithuanian media business," he said.
Balzekas, the largest shareholder of 4 Bees and CEO of 15min, points out that the recent deal is part of a bigger vision.
"The first return in 2021 to 15min, which my friends and I founded in 2005, in my vision, had to do with greater ambition to outgrow our competitors, to buy other companies, to merge the media market and shape a strong Lithuanian media group. Today's event is part of that vision. I feel like I have returned home after a long journey and I am ready to roll up my sleeves even more," Balzekas said. "My partners and I believe that media is a very local business. We do believe that its transparency and sustainability are very important for our society. We do believe that running this business requires high values and ideals. Being able to do so is a great responsibility."
"Together with our team, we believe that we will be able to develop digital subscriptions well and that this business will not only make sense, but also be stable in the long term," Balzekas added.
Shareholders' and borrowed funds were used of the transaction.
4 Bees, a holding company that manages media businesses, also owns the Pasaka cinema and the ZMONES Cinema home cinema platform, the Prenumerata.lt subscription platform, and is a co-owner of the Manodaktaras.lt health service platform, the Medipresa book distribution company, the Patogupirkti.lt online bookstore, and the Bookswap LT book exchange platform.
Balzekas owns 56.67 percent of 4 Bees, Basokas owns 25.67 percent, and Burbiene and Bindokas have stakes of 10 and 7.67 percent respectively.
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Lithuanian defmin plays down leaked cable on brigade-related costs
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas played down a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel based on a leaked cable saying that the deployment of a brigade poses major financial challenges to Vilnius.
According to him, Lithuania and Germany are still discussing the costs, which will be detailed later.
"Everything will be detailed in technical agreements," the minister told reporters in the Seimas on Thursday.
"We can say how much we are spending on infrastructure, on the Rudninkai training ground, but all other costs, summa summarum, we still need to calculate," he added.
According to Der Spiegel, diplomatic correspondence from the German embassy in Lithuania, obtained by the publication, shows that Lithuania is convinced that it will only have to pay for the military infrastructure and would only contribute proportionally to the cost of accommodating the German troops.
According to the cable, Vilnius does not feel responsible for building schools and kindergartens for the soldiers’ families.
The report followed the signing of an action plan on the deployment of a Bundeswehr brigade by the Lithuanian and German defense ministers in Vilnius on Monday.
The plan states inter alia that the responsibilities and financial arrangements, including host nation support services as well as funding and operation will be agreed and detailed "in technical arrangements to be developed in 2024".
"We speak openly, we do everything in trust with each other, not behind the scenes," Anusauskas said.
Under the signed agreement, the brigade's key deployment to Lithuania will take place between 2025 and 2026, and the brigade should be fully deployed by 2027.
Discussions on the deployment of such a brigade in Lithuania started after Russia invaded Ukraine. Germany announced its specific commitment in June.
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Lithuanian defmin plays down leaked cable on brigade-related costs (expands)
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas played down a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel based on a leaked cable saying that the deployment of a brigade poses major financial challenges to Vilnius.
According to him, Lithuania and Germany are still discussing the costs, which will be detailed later.
"Everything will be detailed in technical agreements," the minister told reporters in the Seimas on Thursday.
"We can say how much we are spending on infrastructure, on the Rudninkai training ground, but all other costs, summa summarum, we still need to calculate," he added.
Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that neither the Foreign Ministry nor the Defense Ministry had expressed any concerns about the deployment of the brigade during the official talks.
"… it was stated that we do not see any obstacles, everything will be provided and we will do everything as quickly as possible to allow the brigade to settle in Lithuania," he told reporters on Thursday.
According to Der Spiegel, diplomatic correspondence from the German embassy in Lithuania, obtained by the publication, shows that Lithuania is convinced that it will only have to pay for the military infrastructure and would only contribute proportionally to the cost of accommodating the German troops.
According to the cable, Vilnius does not feel responsible for building schools and kindergartens for the soldiers’ families.
The report followed the signing of an action plan on the deployment of a Bundeswehr brigade by the Lithuanian and German defense ministers in Vilnius on Monday.
The plan states inter alia that the responsibilities and financial arrangements, including host nation support services as well as funding and operation will be agreed and detailed "in technical arrangements to be developed in 2024".
"We speak openly, we do everything in trust with each other, not behind the scenes," Anusauskas said.
Under the signed agreement, the brigade's key deployment to Lithuania will take place between 2025 and 2026, and the brigade should be fully deployed by 2027.
Discussions on the deployment of such a brigade in Lithuania started after Russia invaded Ukraine. Germany announced its specific commitment in June.
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Lithuania plans to acquire mobile short-range air defense system from Sweden
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS - Lithuania plans to acquire a mobile short-range air defense system from Sweden, Lithuania's Defense Ministry said after Vic Minister Greta Monika Tuckute signed a preliminary agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces Defense Materiel Administration (FSM) in Stockholm on Tuesday.
With this document, Lithuania has joined the Swedish institution's contract for the acquisition of short-range air defense systems.
"The short-range air defense system will significantly enhance the protection of our airspace. In cooperation with the FSM, we are initiating further procurement procedures which will clarify the exact price, scope and all other details of the acquisition," Tuckute.
The first components of the short-range air defense system are expected to be delivered to Lithuania in 2025 and the whole system should be delivered by 2027.
The Defense Ministry did not disclose the potential acquisition cost.
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More clarity on German families' accommodation once their number is known – Lithuanian PM
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte says more details on the need for civilian infrastructure for the families of German troops will be available when Berlin provides more detailed information on how many of them plan to come to Lithuania during the deployment of the German brigade.
"The key question that needs to be answered, which we are still discussing, is what will be the composition of the people who will arrive, how many people with families and children will want to move here," the prime minister told reporters at the Seimas on Thursday.
"We cannot guess how many places we will need in schools and kindergartens as that is something our partners have to tell us. Once we have the parameters of the family situation of these people, I think we will solve all these issues," she added.
According to the prime minister, the recently leaked information published by the German publication Der Spiegel, stating that the deployment of the German brigade in Vilnius poses significant financial challenges, "does not show anything".
The prime minister says Lithuania's planned spending on military infrastructure "is much higher than any imaginable civilian infrastructure that might be needed for people arriving with their families".
"Actually, it is not clear which period it (the leaked information - BNS) is from, and of what authenticity. I can certainly confirm there have been discussions, and they are ongoing, on civilian infrastructure, but they are not taking place the way they are depicted and not because the way it was depicted there," she said.
According to Der Spiegel, correspondence from diplomats at the German embassy in Lithuania states that Lithuania is convinced it will only have to pay for the military infrastructure and will only contribute proportionally to the cost of accommodating German troops.
Diplomats say Vilnius does not feel responsible for building schools and kindergartens for the families of incoming German troops.
This information was made public after the Lithuanian and German defense ministers signed the brigade deployment roadmap on Monday as around 5,000 German troops are to be deployed in Lithuania.
The roadmap, among other things, states that states that the responsibilities and financial arrangements, including host nation support services as well as funding and operation will be agreed and detailed "in technical arrangements to be developed in 2024".
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Lithuanian finmin: revised EU fiscal rules will allow more investment in defense
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Finance ministers of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday sealed a political deal to reform the bloc's fiscal rules, which, according to Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste, will give more room for investment in defense.
"We stressed during the discussions that, in addition to flexibility for investment and reforms that increase growth potential and fiscal sustainability, we must also provide reasonable flexibility for investments in defense capabilities," Skaiste said in a press release.
"The revised rules reflect the changed geopolitical reality and will create more room for investment in this vital area," she added.
The rules should also deliver real debt relief for EU countries with high debt, while Lithuania and other low-indebted countries should maintain fiscal sustainability.
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Lithuanian parlt fails to strip imprisoned MP Gapsys of his mandate
VILNIUS, Dec 21, BNS – Lithuanian lawmakers on Thursday failed to strip imprisoned MP Vytautas Gapsys, representing the opposition Labor Party, of his mandate.
The votes on four separate criminal offense episodes did not result in the minimum number of votes - 85 - needed to revoke his mandate.
As Gapsys was convicted of four criminal offenses, MPs voted separately to revoke the mandate for each of them but the highest number of votes for one of them was 75. However, at least 85 out of 141 MPs had to vote in favor of at least one of the four resolutions for the mandate to be revoked.
Gapsys was also brought in from the prison in Kaunas to the parliament to attend the impeachment proceedings.
Addressing his fellow lawmakers, Gapsys said he was not guilty of bribery and influence peddling, saying that he was convicted for his statements.
Under the Statute of the Seimas, a person subject to impeachment has the right to attend the Seimas sitting personally or represented by a lawyer.
As Gapsys is serving a prison sentence, the impeachment process is simplified, i.e. taking place without the need to turn to the Constitutional Court.
Last month, the Lithuanian Court of Appeal sentenced Gapsys to four years and six months in prison for corruption offenses, and he is currently serving his time in Kaunas Prison. He is also disqualified for five years from being elected or appointed to any elected or appointed position in state or municipal institutions and establishments, companies or non-state organizations.
The court found that Raimondas Kurlianskis, a former vice president of MG Baltic (now MG Grupe), had asked Gapsys to use his position as an MP and influence his fellow MPs to influence other civil servants, including the then speaker of the Seimas, members of the Labor Party group in the Seimas, the leadership and members of the Seimas Committee on Budget and Finance, and the agriculture minister, when performing their duties, to act legally and illegally as Kurlianskis requested.
Other convicts in the high-profile corruption case include the Labor Party, the Liberal Movement, MG Grupe, Kurliansis, former MPs Eligijus Masiulis, Gintaras Steponavicius and Sarunas Gustainis.
By Milena Andrukaitytė, Jūratė Skėrytė
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Lithuanian parlt gives initial OK to proposed conscription reform
VILNIUS, Dec 13, BNS – The Lithuanian parliament on Wednesday gave its initial backing to the Defense Ministry's proposed conscription reform after 72 lawmakers voted in favor, one was against and 25 abstained.
The bill will now be considered by parliamentary committees and will return to the main hall in the spring.
Under the new model, the conscription age limit would be set at 18-21 years, instead of the existing 18-23 years, and studies in higher education establishments would not be seen as an exception to postpone military service.
Volunteers would be able to serve between the ages of 18 and 38, unchanged from now.
Higher education students will be required to perform their service either by attending the Junior Officer Commanders' training or by joining the National Defense Volunteer Force, thus combining it with their studies.
The reform will also include the reduction of the existing 9-month service time to six months for some conscripts.
Also, conscripts who have acquired a qualification in a profession that is in short supply in the army could serve for three months. The conscription age for such persons would be up to 30 years.
Young men on the conscript lists who are studying and living abroad will have the same choices as those studying and living in Lithuania.
There are also exceptions planned as conscripts who have been deferred on an individual basis would be called up to the age of 22 after the end of the foreseen circumstances. Also, in order to prevent the evasion of service, a conscription age of 30 years would be introduced for persons who have been called up for service but failed to report for service.
According to the ministry, the amendments are also aimed at enabling those who want to serve but are unable to perform compulsory military service because of their health condition. They will have to declare their willingness to serve, and the duration and form of service will be decided by the chief of defense.
In addition, the proposal is to increase the duration of alternative service from 10 to 12 months.
The changes would also extend the length of service in the active reserve and it would last 15 years instead of the existing 10 years. During this service, reserve troops would be periodically called up for repeated reserve training.
"Nevertheless, the 18-19-year-olds who finish school and start compulsory military service immediately after leaving school will remain the priority and ideal option," the Defense Ministry says.
The army estimates that up to 7,000 young men graduate from school each year and are fit for service.
Plans to reform conscription in Lithuania were announced in February and the bill was registered in August. The government approved them earlier this month.
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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, December 22, 2023
VILNIUS, Dec 22, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, December 22, 2023:
PRESIDENT Gitanas Nauseda to attend the ceremony of handover of the Flame of Peace of Bethlehem at 11 a.m.
THE CABINET to hold a virtual sitting at 10 a.m.
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