LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
IN THIS ISSUE:
- Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
- Lithuania’s JustMin: extra restrictions on Russians, Belarusians incompatible with EU law
- Lithuania reports 656 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths
- Lithuania could pass special law to speed up German brigade's deployment – MP
- Lithuania has ambitions to invite Taiwanese bank – Lukauskas (media)
- Sabaliauskaite, Bitinas, Kupsyte among Global Lithuanian Awards laureates
- Customs probes if sanctioned fertilizers are shipped from Uzbekistan to Lithuania (media)
- Debunk.org: scam attack continues in Baltics, criminals use highly advanced technology
- Lithuania's former anti-corruption chief to join EU advisers' mission in Moldova
- Lithuanian formin slams Russia's strikes on Ukraine as 'terrorist attack'
- Lithuania slams Russia's strikes on Ukraine as 'terrorist attack' (updates)
Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
VILNIUS, Dec 29, 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 Friday morning.
Latvia reported no attempts at illegal border crossings on Thursday either. Seven irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Wednesday, 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 JustMin: extra restrictions on Russians, Belarusians incompatible with EU law
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – The proposal to tighten existing restrictions on Belarusian and Russian citizens in Lithuania is not in line with European Union (EU) law, according to the conclusions of the Justice Ministry’s lawyers.
The amendments, drafted by three Conservative lawmakers, propose removing the possibility for both Russians and Belarusians to apply for visas already in Lithuania, unless they are mediated by the Foreign Ministry.
Without such visas, these foreigners would in principle not be able to apply for a temporary residence permit in Lithuania either.
According to the ministry, EU Member States are obliged to issue the necessary visas to foreigners who meet all the conditions for admission laid down in respective Directives.
The Directives also provide that an application for a residence permit shall be refused if the third-country national concerned is considered to be a threat to public policy, public security or public health.
Consequently, the competent authorities of a Member State may reasonably refuse to issue the relevant residence permits following an individual assessment.
"... To the extent that the bill prevents nationals of the states referred to in the bill from applying for a residence permit without having undergone an assessment of their individual circumstances, the provisions of the bill are not in line with the provisions of the above-mentioned Directives," the document states.
Early in December, Conservative MPs Audronius Azubalis, Laurynas Kasciunas and Paulius Saudargas registered a proposal to tighten restrictions on Belarusian citizens by putting them on a par with the existing restrictions for Russian nationals.
The lawmakers argued that the entry of Belarusians needed to be tightened in the light of Lithuanian intelligence data showing that there is an increased threat from Belarusian special services in recruiting newcomers.
At the same time the Conservatives proposed a new restriction on Russians, namely to stop accepting their visa applications not only abroad, but also in Lithuania.
Lithuania now has a law on restrictive measures for Russian and Belarusian citizens in place, but the latter are subject to fewer restrictions.
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 to a more relaxed regime.
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Lithuania reports 656 new COVID-19 cases, four deaths
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – Lithuania has recorded 656 new coronavirus infections and four deaths from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, official statistics showed on Friday morning.
The 14-day primary infection rate has dropped to 335.7 cases per 100,000 people, with the seven-day percentage of positive tests at 26 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 1.38 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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Lithuania could pass special law to speed up German brigade's deployment – MP
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – The parliament could adopt a special law to speed up the deployment of the German brigade in Lithuania, Saulius Skvernelis, leader of the opposition Democrats, said on Friday.
"Perhaps special laws are needed. We could pass a law specifically on the establishment of the German brigade in Lithuania and set certain special conditions to prioritize the processes," he told the Ziniu Radijas radio station.
The Lithuanian and German defense ministers earlier this month signed an action plan for the deployment of the Bundeswehr brigade in Lithuania.
Shortly afterwards, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported, based on leaked information, that the brigade's deployment poses major financial challenges for Vilnius.
According to the report, diplomatic correspondence from Berlin's embassy in Vilnius suggests that Lithuania is convinced that it will only have to pay for the military infrastructure and only proportionally contribute to the cost of accommodating the German troops.
Reportedly, diplomats say that Vilnius does not feel responsible for building schools and kindergartens for the soldiers' families.
Skvernelis told the radio station that Germany's concerns are "not without reason."
"There have been informal discussions here that maybe they (the Germans) should do something here, contribute to it," the MP said.
"No, this is our task, our goal, this is what we have been striving for, and (...) it is a matter of honor for us to make the German troops and their families feel better here than at home," he added.
Skvernelis said he was surprised by the "Olympic calm" on the matter.
"There is absolutely no breakthrough," he said.
The leader of the Democratic Union "For Lithuania" also reiterated his opposition to proposals to increase taxes to raise defense funding.
The MP believes that the government must take measures to improve the collection of existing taxes.
"If the shadow part of the value added tax were reduced at least by half, we would have an additional 500 million euros that we could allocate to defense funding," he said.
Politicians are discussing a defense tax as the country is considering introducing universal military conscription and accelerating the development of the planned army division.
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Lithuania has ambitions to invite Taiwanese bank – Lukauskas (media)
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – Lithuania has ambitions to invite a Taiwanese bank that could also operate across Europe, Paulius Lukauskas, head of the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office in Taiwan, has said.
"The demand for banking in Europe is likely to grow. This is an opportunity for us. Our fintech ecosystem, our regulator, the Bank of Lithuania, has proved that it can be a bit faster, a bit more flexible. And all the beauty of the banking sector is that if they get a license in Lithuania, they could really operate across Europe without any problems," Lukauskas said in an interview with the LRT news portal on Friday.
"We can certainly say with confidence that we are now selling the concept to Europe and those banking services are simpler than semiconductor manufacturing," he added.
According to Lukauskas, Taiwanese banks will be encouraged to follow the business by Taiwanese investments in Europe, including plans by Taiwanese chip giant TSMC to invest in a new semiconductor plant in Germany.
According to the head of the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office, there are also nine state-owned banks operating in Taiwan.
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Sabaliauskaite, Bitinas, Kupsyte among Global Lithuanian Awards laureates
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – Seven Global Lithuanian Awards for this year's Lithuanian international achievements and accomplishments in the field of innovation and technology were presented in a ceremony in Vilnius on Thursday.
Kristina Sabaliauskaite, Lithuania's most internationally read contemporary writer, was named the winner in the category "For Worldwide Recognition of Global Lithuanian Professionals". She was awarded "for global recognition in literature and significant social initiatives", according to the organizers.
Tomas Okmanas and Eimantas Sabaliauskas, co-founders of Nord Security and Tesonet, received the award in the category "For Lithuanian Innovations Leading Globally", and Emile Radyte, a neuroscientist and co-founder of Samphire Neuroscience, won in the category "For International Achievements of Young Lithuanian Scientific Talents".
The award "For Investments Attracted to Lithuania" went to Hollister Lietuva CEO Saulius Bitinas for attracting "record investments in the production of medical products in Lithuania".
In the category "For Creating International Business Relations", Ingrida Getruda Bublys, honorary general consul of Lithuania and president at IBInternational Inc. in the US, was honored for "fostering the growth of Lithuanian businesses and opening doors to the world's largest market".
The award in the category "For Promoting Lithuania Globally" was presented to Gabriele Kupsyte, an opera soloist of the younger generation, currently pursuing her career at the Royal Opera House in London, for "promoting the name of Lithuania on the international opera stage". She was the only laureate chosen from the list of nominees by the public, rather than by the jury.
The Foreign Ministry's award "For Lifetime Achievements" went to the Lithuanian World Center in Lemont, the US.
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Customs probes if sanctioned fertilizers are shipped from Uzbekistan to Lithuania (media)
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – The Lithuanian Customs is looking into whether sanctioned fertilizers are being shipped from Uzbekistan to Lithuania, Siena (Wall), an investigative journalism center, reported on Friday.
Data collected by Siena and its foreign partners indicate a discrepancy of 72 million US dollars between fertilizer trade volumes officially declared by Lithuania and Uzbekistan from March 2022 to October this year.
The Customs Department has informed Siena that it is investigating the discrepancy in the countries' fertilizer trade statistics and that it has submitted an inquiry to Uzbekistan's officials and expect a prompt response.
"It will then become clear whether the suspicions of potential circumvention of sanctions and possible trade in sanctioned fertilizers are justified," the department told the center.
According to the United Nations Comtrade database reflecting member countries' official trade statistics, Lithuania reported having imported fertilizers worth 107.5 million US dollars between March 2022 and October this year. However, Uzbekistan's figures show that it exported fertilizers worth 35.2 million dollars to Lithuania during the same period.
Siena notes that while Uzbekistan has a well-developed fertilizer industry, it is possible that the country is being used as a conduit to export sanctioned goods to the European Union.
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Debunk.org: scam attack continues in Baltics, criminals use highly advanced technology
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – The scam and disinformation attack, which started at the beginning of the year, continues to spread in the Baltic States and criminals are using highly sophisticated technologies, Debunk.org, a disinformation analysis center, reported on Friday.
The center also points out that the authorities are not able to prevent the criminals' activities also due to the lack of cooperation from Meta, the company that runs the Facebook social network, which profits from the scammers' activities.
"We witnessed the highest intensity of the attack in September and October this year. We can see that active publicity, combined with action by the police and the authorities, has had an impact. However, scam attempts continue, albeit on a smaller scale," Viktoras Dauksas, the head of Debunk.org, said in a press release.
It has been found that online scammers use the names of various politicians, celebrities, companies and news portals, as well as high-profile events, to lure people into supposedly lucrative investments on platforms that do not actually exist, ultimately defrauding people of their money.
According to Dauksas, scammers use technologically advanced schemes for this attack. These include the so-called cloaking technology: this method makes detection of the scam even more challenging, as it involves creating many different websites or webpages and, depending on specific criteria, redirecting different users to different content.
For instance, potential victims are shown a fake website and a fake investment platform, while Meta moderators or researchers are redirected to completely unrelated real websites or their copies.
In addition, scammers automatically display content on fake websites in the language and on the topics of the user's country of origin.
Criminals also cover their tracks to avoid being caught, registering domains for fake websites through offshore companies in countries such as Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and using a service that allows them to register domains anonymously.
Debunk.org estimates that at least 119 fake website addresses and 124 Facebook profiles have already been used by the criminals in this attack. These accounts have shown as many as 1,144 fake ads and reached an audience of almost 10 million users.
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Lithuania's former anti-corruption chief to join EU advisers' mission in Moldova
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – Zydrunas Bartkus, a former director of Lithuania's Special Investigation Service (SIS), said on Friday that he is set to join the European Union High-Level Advisers' Mission in Moldova.
"After the New Year holidays, I will temporarily move to another EU candidate country – Moldova," Bartkus posted on his Facebook account.
"Working in the European Union High-Level Advisers' Mission, I will have the opportunity to share my experience with Moldova's authorities in charge of preventing money laundering and returning illegally acquired assets, including through corruption, to the state," he wrote.
Bartkus joined the Lithuanian anti-corruption body back in 1999 and served as its director between March 2018 and late March 2023.
In December, the European Council gave the green light to the start of Moldova's accession negotiations with the bloc.
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Lithuanian formin slams Russia's strikes on Ukraine as 'terrorist attack'
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis condemned Friday's massive air strikes on Ukraine as "yet another Russian terrorist attack".
"I see no 'quiet signals' that Russia wants 'peace'," Landsbergis posted on X. "I see only collapsed shopping malls, burning homes and smashed maternity hospitals, the results of yet another Russian terrorist attack."
"We should now be sending loud signals that these crimes will not be allowed to continue," he added.
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired 36 Shahed-type drones, at least 98 cruise missiles, at least 14 surface-to-air guided missiles, fine Kinzhal missiles and five other missiles of another type.
Ukraine said 114 out of 158 air targets had been destroyed in the massive attack.
At least 20 people were killed and over a hundred others were injured in various Ukrainian cities on Friday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "Today Russia hit us with almost everything it has in its arsenal".
He said civilian targets such as maternity homes, schools, shopping centers, high-rise buildings and private homes, commercial warehouses and car parks had been hit in the barrage.
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Lithuania slams Russia's strikes on Ukraine as 'terrorist attack' (updates)
VILNIUS, Dec 29, BNS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis on Friday condemned Russia’s massive air strikes on Ukraine.
Nauseda called the attack “a reminder from terrorist Russia that there are no limits to its cruelty and lust for war”.
"We must provide all possible support to Ukraine to defeat the aggressor! Stay strong, Ukrainian brothers, Lithuania is with you!" the president said in a post on X.
Landsbergis stated that the West must send clear signals that Russia's crimes will not be allowed to continue.
"I see no 'quiet signals' that Russia wants 'peace'," he posted on X. "I see only collapsed shopping malls, burning homes and smashed maternity hospitals, the results of yet another Russian terrorist attack."
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia had fired 36 Shahed-type drones, at least 98 cruise missiles, at least 14 surface-to-air guided missiles, fine Kinzhal missiles and five other missiles of another type.
Ukraine said 114 out of 158 air targets had been destroyed in the massive attack.
At least 20 people were killed and over a hundred others were injured in various Ukrainian cities on Friday.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "Today Russia hit us with almost everything it has in its arsenal".
He said civilian targets such as maternity homes, schools, shopping centers, high-rise buildings and private homes, commercial warehouses and car parks had been hit in the barrage.
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