LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Lithuania's top court finds SSD whistleblower panel, conclusions unconstitutional
2. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Friday, June 6, 2025
3. Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
4. Lithuania, 5 other countries plan joint procurement of CV90 IFVs
5. Lithuania's top court to rule on constitutionality of whistleblower inquiry commission
6. Lithuania's defense, education ministers to sign agreement on civic education for students
7. Lithuania against EU proposal to reduce compensation for flight delays
8. Lubiene says has no plans to sell stake in Lithuania's Achema Group for now - BNS INTERVIEW
9. Lithuania to start renovation of 10 km stretch, two bridges at border with Poland in June
10. Lithuania needs sustainable sources of revenue when increasing defense funding – IMF
11. Lithuania's top court finds SSD whistleblower panel, conclusions unconstitutional
12. Court ruling shows whistleblower panel was politically motivated – Lithuanian PM's advisor
13. Even best initiative can be ruined by poor execution – whistleblower after court ruling
14. Court ruling on whistleblower panel confirms Lithuanian president's stance – his advisor
15. Constitutional Court did not look what SSD whistleblower panel found – MP
16. Push to discredit Lithuanian president 'blinded' former ruling bloc – MP
17. Lithuanian defmin, US SOC chief Fenton agree to strengthen cooperation
18. Lithuania's Viciunai Group sold its business in Russia for EUR 100 mln
19. Lithuania's DefMin launches tender for development of Kairiai military campus

Lithuania's top court finds SSD whistleblower panel, conclusions unconstitutional

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania's decision to set up an ad hoc commission to investigate the information provided by a whistleblower from the State Security Department and the conclusions of this inquiry, which were subsequently adopted, run counter to the country's Constitution, the Constitutional Court ruled on Friday.

The conclusions state that President Gitanas Nauseda is vulnerable and may have broken his oath of office by refusing to answer the commission's questions. Also, they state, some individuals involved in Belarusian fertilizer business attempted to become and did become the heads of state institutions and advisors to the president-elect, and that the then SSD director Darius Jauniskis assisted Nauseda in gathering intelligence information about his inner circle and supporters.

By Jūratė Skėrytė

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Friday, June 6, 2025

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Friday, June 6, 2025:

DEFENSE MINISTER Dovile Sakaliene and EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND SPORT MINISTER Raminta Popoviene to sign at 1:05 p.m. a cooperation agreement on civic and patriotic education for Lithuanian schoolchildren and youth, to be followed by a joint press conference at 1:10 p.m.

COURTS 

The Constitutional Court to issue at 12 p.m.  its ruling on whether the parliament's decision to set up a temporary inquiry commission to investigate information provided by a whistleblower from the State Security Department was in line with the Constitution.

Vilnius City District Court to issue at 3 p.m. its ruling in a civil case in which Liam Campbell, linked to Irish terrorists, is seeking compensation from the Justice Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office for material and non-material damage allegedly caused by unlawful actions of prosecutors and judges.

OTHER EVENTS 

The Bank of Lithuania to host at 8:30 a.m. a meeting with its board chairman Gediminas Simkus to discuss the latest monetary policy decisions of the European Central Bank's Governing Council.

 

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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuanian border guards have recorded no attempts to cross into the country from Belarus illegally in the past 24 hours, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Friday morning.

Latvia reported 70 illegal border crossing attempts on Thursday. Poland denied entry to 169 irregular migrants on Wednesday, according to the latest available information.

Lithuania has barred 837 irregular migrants from entering from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year, after turning away 1,002 in 2024

The influx of irregular migrants into the EU's eastern member states from Belarus began in 2021 and is blamed by the West on the Minsk regime.

 

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Lithuania, 5 other countries plan joint procurement of CV90 IFVs

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuania and five other countries are planning a joint procurement of CV90 armored infantry fighting vehicles.

The announcement was first made by Finland's Defense Ministry and later confirmed by Lithuania's Defense Ministry.

According to the ministries, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, Estonia and the Netherlands signed a statement of intent on Thursday to prepare for a possible joint acquisition of CV90 IFVs.

"This agreement underscores our commitment to strengthening the capabilities of the Lithuanian Armed Forces and deepening cooperation with our Nordic partners," Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said.

Sakaliene emphasized the importance of a swift and efficient procurement process and the timely delivery of the vehicles.

"Lithuania's goal is to have a fully operational division by 2030, and these infantry fighting vehicles are an integral part of that. The joint defense procurement program is a strategic decision that ensures not only more efficient armament supply, but also highlights close cooperation between countries," she said.

According to the ministry, the CV90 platform, manufactured by Sweden’s BAE Systems Hagglunds, offers top-tier protection, mobility and combat performance.

The vehicles are in service in a number of NATO countries and have been tested in real combat operations.

Deliveries to Lithuania and the other countries are expected to begin in 2028.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed.

Lithuania plans to allocate at least 5 percent of its GDP to defense starting next year.

 

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Lithuania's top court to rule on constitutionality of whistleblower inquiry commission

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuania's Constitutional Court is expected to rule on Friday on whether the parliament violated the Constitution by setting up a temporary inquiry commission to examine information provided by a whistleblower from the State Security Department (SSD).

The court did not review the commission's findings.

The previous ruling majority in the Seimas launched the inquiry based on allegations by former SSD officer Tomas Gailius. He claimed that the intelligence agency had illegally collected data and passed it on to third parties, and raised concerns about possible influence from the Belarusian fertilizer business on President Gitanas Nauseda.

Opposition lawmakers refused to join the commission and later took the case to the Constitutional Court.

In their petition, they argued that the commission had been given powers overlapping with those of the intelligence ombudsman, even though that office was already functioning. According to the petitioners, the Seimas could have referred the matter to the ombudsman without overstepping its mandate or duplicating the ombudsman's responsibilities.

They also said that bypassing the Prosecutor General's Office and handing the case to the commission could be seen as an attempt to exert political pressure.

According to the petition, the questions put to the commission were biased and designed not to gather information or establish the truth, but to probe politically sensitive aspects of the 2019 presidential election with the aim of exerting political influence on one of the candidates in the 2024 presidential race.

The group of MPs argued that the scope of the parliamentary inquiry was defined too broadly and abstractly, both in terms of the individuals and issues to be examined, allowing the commission to set its own object of investigation and potentially stray from the Seimas' stated objectives.

After five months of work, the commission concluded in March 2024 that President Nauseda was vulnerable and may have broken his oath of office by refusing to answer its questions.

The commission said it had obtained evidence that several dozen people from the inner circle of Nauseda, then a presidential candidate, had links with the Belarusian fertilizer industry as well as Russian and Belarusian intelligence services, and maintained contacts with Russian and Belarusian diplomats. Investigators said this made the president vulnerable.

The panel also said it had evidence that "some persons linked to the Belarusian fertilizer business attempted to become, and became, the heads of state bodies of importance to national security, and advisors to the newly-elected president." 

According to the findings, Darius Jauniskis, then SSD director, was aware of the risks posed by certain individuals in Nauseda's circle but "withheld this information from the commission and decision-makers."

The report also alleged that in 2019 Jauniskis helped Nauseda by gathering intelligence on his campaign team and backers, and that the list of individuals to be background-checked came either directly from Nauseda or was provided at his instruction.

It also alleged that Linas Pernavas, director of the Special Investigation Service (SIS), abused his position by withholding information from the commission about a criminal intelligence investigation related to the whistleblower case and that Jauniskis provided misleading information to the MPs.

The heads of the Prosecutor General's Office, the SSD and the SIS accused the Seimas commission of bias, overstepping its authority and exerting pressure. The officials said the commission ignored part of the documents and testimony submitted, overlooked facts, and demanded access to criminal intelligence material, which the law forbids them to release.

The heads of the agencies therefore filed a complaint with the parliamentary Commission for Ethics and Procedures, which found that the inquiry had violated the Statute of the Seimas and the Code of Conduct for Politicians.

 

 

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Lithuania's defense, education ministers to sign agreement on civic education for students

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene and Education, Science and Sport Minister Raminta Popoviene will sign a cooperation agreement on Friday to promote civic and patriotic education among Lithuanian students and youth.

According to the Defense Ministry, the agreement commits both ministries to strengthening young people's resilience to threats, encouraging broader public involvement in national defense, preserving historical memory, and supporting the work of non-governmental organizations.

The agreement provides for continued collaboration between the ministries in areas ranging from fostering historical awareness and civic values to developing modern technological skills, such as cybersecurity and drone operation.

As the Education Ministry plans to shorten the 2025–2026 academic year for students in grades 5 through 10, it intends to offer a range of non-formal education activities.

Popoviene said these may include educational programs, camps and civic education sessions. She added that the ministry will look for ways to cooperate with the Lithuanian Riflemen's Union to organize survival and first aid training for students.

 

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Lithuania against EU proposal to reduce compensation for flight delays

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS - Lithuania is against the EU proposals to increase the length of flight delays for which passengers should receive compensation and to reduce the amount of compensation.

This position was expressed by Transport Minister Eugenijus Sabutis at the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council meeting in Luxembourg, the ministry said on Friday, adding that such proposals would weaken passengers' rights.

"We are concerned that they want to extend the time limit for flight delays when passengers can already receive the compensation they are entitled to and that they also want to reduce the amount of compensation," the minister said in a statement.

According to the ministry, the TTE Council is proposing paying passengers 300 euros in compensation if the flight is delayed for at least four hours and has a distance of up to 3,500 kilometers. For longer delays of 6 hours or more, the compensation would be 500 euros.

In addition, it is proposed that a passenger would not have to make a separate compensation request for cancellation or refund, but that air carriers would have to do this automatically.

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Lubiene says has no plans to sell stake in Lithuania's Achema Group for now - BNS INTERVIEW

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lyda Lubiene, the main shareholder of Achema Group, one of Lithuania's largest business conglomerates, says she currently has no intention of selling her stake to any buyer while a legal dispute with Arunas Laurinaitis, a minority shareholder, is ongoing.

"As long as I'm in the middle of court proceedings, I'm not doing anything else," Lubiene told BNS in a recent interview.

Lubiene also said she has no plans to sell her shares to Laurinaitis, who has expressed interest in buying them but claims she has resisted the move.

Lubiene said Laurinaitis has failed to prove he has sufficient funds to make the purchase or at least carry out an audit of the company. She added that his preemptive right to acquire the shares expired long ago.

"Mr. Laurinaitis has filed a lawsuit, and until the court hearing takes place and the process is over, (I'm not making any moves). That's exactly why MET pulled out – no one wants to proceed until the legal situation is clear. So let Mr. Laurinaitis go on trying to prove he has preemptive rights. I'm waiting for the court's decision," she said.

Lubiene acknowledged that the situation at the group's largest companies – Achema and Klasco – is very difficult. However, she hopes that the European fertilizer market will change in favor of the group after the EU's import quotas and tariffs on fertilizers from Belarus and Russia take effect in July. 

Earlier this year, Laurinaitis, a former Achema Group president, confirmed that he was seeking to purchase a 54 percent stake from Lubiene and her daughter Viktorija Lubyte for nearly 303 million euros. 

Faced with resistance from Lubiene, Laurinaitis announced in early February that he had taken legal action to enforce his preemptive right to buy the 54 percent stake.

The minority shareholder, whose lawsuit effectively blocked MET Group's acquisition of the 54 percent stake from the group's main shareholders, says that he still aims to acquire the controlling interest.

"Regardless of what MET has said publicly – that it doesn't plan to go ahead with the Achema Group acquisition – I'm ready to acquire and continue to participate in the process," Laurinaitis told BNS in a recent interview.

However, he admitted that Lubiene continues to ignore him and other minority shareholders and has provided no clarity about the group's future.

MET Group, which announced its intention to acquire a 54.07 percent stake in Achema Group in early June 2024, said it also aimed to negotiate with minority shareholders and buy out their shares.

On May 21 this year, however, MET said it was pulling out of the deal, citing legal disputes and various uncertainties, particularly unresolved shareholder disputes over preemptive rights and mounting challenges in the fertilizer sector.

 

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Lithuania to start renovation of 10 km stretch, two bridges at border with Poland in June

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The renovation of a 10 km stretch of the Leipalingis-Kapciamiestis-Kauknoris road from Kapciamiestis to Kauknoris is set to start earlier this month, Lithuania's state-owned road company Via Lietuva said on Friday.

The works are planned in the municipality of Lazdijai District, from Kapciamiestis to Kauknoris, on the road section from 18.1 to 28.1 km. The bridges over the Rivers Nieda and Kalvys.

Traffic safety measures will be installed on the road, including signal columns, barriers, a speed reduction hill, and a small roundabout in the settlement of Kapciamiestis.

According to Via Lietuva, six existing junctions and six existing off-ramps are to be repaired, which will become intersections after the repair.

The company says that low-noise asphalt pavements will be installed within the settlements.

According to Via Lietuva, the contract for the renovation work was signed with Parama in early May, and the works are planned to be completed by the end of next year.

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Lithuania needs sustainable sources of revenue when increasing defense funding – IMF

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuania should look for new and sustainable sources of budget financing as it wants to increase its defense spending, the International Monetary Fund says.

The fund believes that the tax reform being already debated by the Seimas would increase budget revenues, but only slightly.

"We see a pressing need to mobilize additional permanent sources of revenue. In this respect, we welcome the effort to accommodate spending needs through the proposed tax changes. But the revenue is expected to be modest," Kazuko Shirono, head of the IMF mission, told a press conference in Vilnius on Friday.

"So raising some more revenue will be useful to finance a large part of the additional defense spending with these tax revenues," she added.

She said Lithuania should increase its budget revenues in order to have more sustainable sources of income in the medium term and to have “sufficient buffers against possible shocks in the future”.

The IMF presented the results of its 12-day mission on Friday. The institution expects Lithuania's GDP to grow by 2.8 percent this year, with average annual inflation standing at 3.1 percent.

Despite expected growth, the IMF estimates that the country's economy will face more challenges, not only the need to increase defense spending, but also a deteriorating demographic situation and geopolitical and global trade uncertainties.

According to the IMF, Lithuania needs to accelerate structural reforms, increase economic productivity and manage public finances more effectively.

"New challenges are emerging. Defense spending is expected to rise to 5-6 percent of GDP for the next 5 years. This will add to the existing already high long-term spending pressures," Shirono said.

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Lithuania's top court finds SSD whistleblower panel, conclusions unconstitutional

Updated version: updates throughout

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The Seimas of Lithuania's decision to set up an ad hoc commission to investigate the information provided by a whistleblower from the State Security Department and the conclusions of this inquiry, which were subsequently adopted, run counter to the country's Constitution, Constitutional Court ruled on Friday.

The conclusions state that President Gitanas Nauseda is vulnerable and may have broken his oath of office by refusing to answer the commission's questions. Also, they state, some individuals involved in Belarusian fertilizer business attempted to become and did become the heads of state institutions and advisors to the president-elect, and that the then SSD director Darius Jauniskis assisted Nauseda in gathering intelligence information about his inner circle and supporters.

Following this Constitutional Court ruling, both Seimas resolutions will cease to be valid.

According to the Constitutional Court, the Seimas violated the constitutional principles of responsible governance and the rule of law by formulating tasks for the investigators and then approving their conclusions.

The Seimas had formulated questions and tasks for the ad hoc commission that were too broad and covered a wide range of areas, Gintaras Goda, president of the Constitutional Court, said. 

"As a result, the Constitutional Court ruled that the commission could not carry out this work in a qualitative manner because the wording of the questions is such that a commission with a time limit of several months simply cannot answer them. At the same time, it allows the commission to improvise and choose the tasks it should tackle," Goda said, adding that the Constitutional Court has repeatedly clarified that the limits of an investigation are defined by the parliament.

Meanwhile, the Seimas failed to set clear parliamentary inquiry limits when it set up the commission into the SSD whistleblower case in October 2023 and formulated tasks for it. This allowed the commission to choose its own issues for investigation and to look for possible violations and criminal acts committed by other institutions, their officials and individuals, instead of gathering the necessary information to solve the problem and making proposals for improving legislation.

The Constitutional Court also pointed out that when establishing the commission, the parliament failed to specify which presidential candidates and which persons who assisted them should be investigated, which media-published data on the monitoring of election financing should be compared to the expenses of all candidates who participated in the 2019 presidential election, and it did not specify which business people involved in Belarusian fertilizer business, who allegedly had influence on Nauseda and members of his election headquarters and his advisors, should be investigated.

Moreover, the Constitutional Court noted that the Seimas investigation was led by Vytautas Bakas who headed the election headquarters of one of the presidential candidates, Sauliaus Skvernelis, in 2019 and therefore, according to the Seimas' mandate, he was to investigate whether the SSD had collected any information about him.

The parliamentary inquiry looked into the information provided by Tomas Gailius, a former SSD employee, about the possible illegal collection of data and its disclosure to third parties, as well as the possible influence of people involved in Belarusian fertilizer business on President Nauseda.

Members of the opposition representatives refused to be involved in this commission, which is why they lodged an appeal to the Constitutional Court.

As BNS reported earlier, after a five-month-long investigation, the Seimas commission concluded in March 2024 that President Nauseda was vulnerable and might have broken his oath of office by failing to respond to the commission's questions.

Nauseda has always categorically denied having asked the SSD to investigate his inner circle.

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Court ruling shows whistleblower panel was politically motivated – Lithuanian PM's advisor

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The Constitutional Court's ruling shows that the previous ruling bloc violated the law in an attempt to politically damage President Gitanas Nauseda, Justinas Argustas, an advisor to Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, said on Friday. 

Argustas was speaking after the Constitutional Court found that the parliament's decision to set up a temporary inquiry commission to investigate claims by a State Security Department (SSD) whistleblower – as well as the findings later approved by the parliament – ran counter to the Constitution. 

"This ruling by the Constitutional Court is very important and deserves respect," the advisor told BNS. "It's clear that the then ruling majority established and used the commission for political purposes, violating the law in an attempt to harm the incumbent president, who was also running for re-election."

"The then ruling majority, led by the conservatives, placed their political interests above those of our state. They should at least apologize and explain why they did so," he added.

According to Argustas, the commission's work and its findings damaged the reputation of the institutions under investigation.

"Trying to smear the president or other institutions – whether the SSD, the Special Investigation Service or the Prosecutor General's Office – caused reputational damage," the advisor said. "Such a precedent should be viewed very negatively."

"The Constitutional Court's ruling is both a lesson and proof for the future that, regardless of who holds the majority, it's wrong to abuse parliamentary power to set up biased commissions or otherwise stir up tensions between branches of government for electoral gain," he said.

According to the Constitutional Court, the Seimas violated the constitutional principles of responsible governance and the rule of law by formulating tasks for the investigators and then approving their conclusions.

The court said a temporary parliamentary inquiry commission may only be formed to investigate a clearly defined issue of national importance. The scope of such investigations must be clearly laid out, including what information about what state or societal processes and problems needs to be collected.

However, the Seimas failed to set clear parliamentary inquiry limits when it set up the commission into the SSD whistleblower case in October 2023 and formulated tasks for it. This allowed the commission to choose its own issues for investigation and to look for possible violations and criminal acts committed by other institutions, their officials and individuals, instead of gathering the necessary information to solve the problem and making proposals for improving legislation.

The parliamentary inquiry conclusions, adopted by the parliament last year, state that President Gitanas Nauseda is vulnerable and may have broken his oath of office by refusing to answer the commission's questions.

They also allege that some individuals linked to Belarus' fertilizer business attempted to become and did become the heads of state institutions and advisors to the president-elect, and that the then SSD director Darius Jauniskis assisted Nauseda in gathering intelligence information about his inner circle and supporters.

Nauseda has always categorically denied having asked the SSD to investigate his inner circle.

 

By Vilmantas Venckūnas

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Even best initiative can be ruined by poor execution – whistleblower after court ruling

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Following Friday's Constitutional Court ruling that the parliamentary inquiry commission investigating claims by a State Security Department (SSD) whistleblower acted unconstitutionally, Tomas Gailius, the whistleblower, pointed to what he sees as a broader pattern of institutional failure in Lithuania, including in the Seimas.

"The problem is that institutions in our country simply don't do their jobs properly. That's it. Be it the Seimas, law enforcement, the Prosecutor's Office or the courts," Gailius told BNS on Friday.

"There are legal experts, there are departments whose job it is to evaluate these issues and make sure everything is done according to the law. But even the best idea or law can be ruined by poor execution," he said.

The former SSD officer, now a politician, said he had no role in setting up the commission or drafting its questions, was unfamiliar with the legal details, and simply provided the information the parliamentary commission requested.

"That's how I see it – and court rulings must be respected," he added.

Earlier on Friday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Seimas' decision to set up a temporary inquiry commission to investigate the SSD whistleblower's claims – as well as the findings later approved by the parliament – ran counter to the Constitution.  

 

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Court ruling on whistleblower panel confirms Lithuanian president's stance – his advisor

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The Lithuanian Constitutional Court's ruling that the parliamentary inquiry commission formed to investigate claims by a State Security Department (SSD) whistleblower violated the Constitution confirms President Gitanas Nauseda's position, his advisor said on Friday.

"The Constitutional Court confirmed what the president has said repeatedly: the temporary commission, set up at the initiative of the former conservative party leadership, violated the Constitution and its entire activity was aimed at targeting the head of state after he announced plans to run for a second term," Frederikas Jansonas told BNS.

"The election results clearly showed that the people of Lithuania saw and understood this. And today, the Constitutional Court has put an end to this story," he added.

Earlier on Friday, the Constitutional Court ruled that the Seimas' decision to set up a temporary inquiry commission to investigate the SSD whistleblower's claims ran counter to the Constitution, as did its findings later endorsed by the parliament. 

According to the court, the Seimas violated the constitutional principles of responsible governance and the rule of law by formulating tasks for the investigators and then approving their conclusions.

The court said a temporary parliamentary inquiry commission may only be formed to investigate a clearly defined issue of national importance. The scope of such investigations must be clearly laid out, including what information about what state or societal processes and problems needs to be collected.

However, the Seimas failed to set clear parliamentary inquiry limits when it set up the commission into the SSD whistleblower case in October 2023 and formulated tasks for it. This allowed the commission to choose its own issues for investigation and to look for possible violations and criminal acts committed by other institutions, their officials and individuals, instead of gathering the necessary information to solve the problem and making proposals for improving legislation.

The parliamentary inquiry conclusions, adopted by the parliament last year, state that Nauseda is vulnerable and may have broken his oath of office by refusing to answer the commission's questions.

They also allege that some individuals linked to Belarus' fertilizer business attempted to become and did become the heads of state institutions and advisors to the president-elect, and that the then SSD director Darius Jauniskis assisted Nauseda in gathering intelligence information about his inner circle and supporters.

Nauseda has always categorically denied having asked the SSD to investigate his inner circle.

 

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Constitutional Court did not look what SSD whistleblower panel found – MP

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuania's Constitutional Court has not refuted the conclusions of the ad hoc commission set up by the parliament to look into the information provided by a whistleblower from the State Security Department, MP Matas Maldeikis, who was a member of the ad hoc commission, says.

"The Constitutional Court looked into procedural issues, but it did not in any way examine the issues that were investigated and what the representatives of the institutions testified," the MP told BNS on Friday.

His comment came in response to the top court's Friday ruling that the Seimas of Lithuania's decision to set up the ad hoc commission and the conclusions of this inquiry, which were subsequently adopted, run counter to the country's Constitution.

"I respect the Constitutional Court's conclusion because it forms a certain doctrine on how commissions should function in the Seimas. I think this is an issue for future commissions, but the actual fact and the information gathered by the commission on the whole political field that we had in the context of the whistleblower case remains unchallenged," Maldeikis told BNS.

"Therefore, those insinuations that what was examined was denied are not true," he added.

The member of the opposition conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats reiterated his opinion that all the material gathered by the investigators should be made public so that "Lithuanian citizens can get their own impression and opinion of what has been gathered and of our political field". He also proposed to do so last year following the adoption of the inquiry conclusions, but the SSD agreed

"I am convinced that sooner or later more and more people will become familiar with the information that has been collected, more and more members of the Seimas will come and read it, new members of the Seimas will come and read it, and it will go down in history," Maldeikis said. "This is about how states will function for decades to come. I am sure that the work done by the commission will determine things in the future."

The parliamentary inquiry conclusions state that President Gitanas Nauseda is vulnerable and may have broken his oath of office by refusing to answer the commission's questions. Also, they state, some individuals involved in Belarusian fertilizer business attempted to become and did become the heads of state institutions and advisors to the president-elect, and that the then SSD director Darius Jauniskis assisted Nauseda in gathering intelligence information about his inner circle and supporters.

Nauseda has always categorically denied having asked the SSD to investigate his inner circle.

By Jūratė Skėrytė

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Push to discredit Lithuanian president 'blinded' former ruling bloc – MP

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – The push by the previous ruling coalition to discredit President Gitanas Nauseda "blinded" politicians and they failed to see the constitutional issues with forming the temporary parliamentary inquiry commission that was ruled unconstitutional on Friday, MP Agne Sirinskiene of the Democrats "For Lithuania" said.  

She was speaking after the Constitutional Court found that the Seimas' decision to set up the commission to investigate claims by a State Security Department (SSD) whistleblower ran counter to the Constitution, as did its findings later endorsed by the parliament.

"I'm really pleased because the constitutional issues with how the commission was formed were obvious from the very first days when the resolution was registered," Sirinskiene, who represented the group of MPs who filed the petition in the case, told BNS.

"It seems the then ruling majority was so intent on winning the presidential election and discrediting Gitanas Nauseda's candidacy at any cost that they were simply blinded and failed to see the quite obvious (constitutional) violations," the Democrat said. 

"So I'm really pleased that, even though some time has passed, this recognition has come and a full stop has finally been put to the inquiry commission, in which the opposition practically did not participate," she added.

Sirinskiene expects that the parliament's Legal Department will refer to the Constitutional Court's ruling as a guideline when assessing initiatives to form temporary inquiry commissions in the future.

"I think this ruling puts a clear end to politically motivated inquiry commissions in the Seimas. From now on, the Legal Department, if any such attempts are made again, will likely point out constitutional violations and additional procedures will kick in right away," the Democrat said.

"This is also a very clear signal to politicians that such commissions shouldn't be formed during election campaigns, especially when they involve politicians who are both the ones conducting the inquiry and the subjects of that inquiry," the MP said. 

"There's now clarity and I believe we won't be seeing any more of these campaign-time political shows that try to grab attention and discredit one of the candidates at any cost," she added.

 

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Lithuanian defmin, US SOC chief Fenton agree to strengthen cooperation

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene on Friday met with Bryan P. Fenton, commander of the United States Special Operations Command, and they discussed regional security and opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation, the Defense Ministry said.

Sakaliene also thanked Fenton for the long-standing US support to the Lithuanian army's Special Operations Forces.

"The presence of US troops in Lithuania and their active participation in ensuring the security of our region is one of the most effective ways to ensure deterrence and defense of NATO's eastern border," the minister underlined.

Lithuania is ready to host more US troops, including SOC troops , and continues to improve the military infrastructure for American troops, Sakaliene added.

"We understand that Europe needs to take more responsibility for its own and Ukraine's security and continue to support it in every possible way. Lithuania is doing its homework and demonstrating a responsible approach by increasing defense spending, investing in the acquisition of weapons, strengthening our borders and collectively increasing our defense capabilities," the defense minister said.

In her words, participation in international operations with the US remains a priority for Lithuanian troops.

"We are committed to deploying our forces to international operations and missions, to fulfilling our obligations, and the Lithuanian Special Operations Forces are ready and open to opportunities to participate in them alongside US troops," she added.

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Lithuania's Viciunai Group sold its business in Russia for EUR 100 mln

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Viciunai Group, a Lithuanian group making and selling fish and other food products, co-owned by Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijosaitis, sold its business in Russia and other eastern markets for just over 100 million euros in April 2024, Dainius Matijosaitis, a board member at the group, confirmed it to BNS on Friday.

Matijosaitis was asked to comment on the data BNS had and the possible value of the transaction calculated from the companies' records. Under the agreement between the two parties, the value of has not been disclosed so far.

"The part of our business that operated in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and other Russian-speaking markets, excluding Ukraine, was sold at the beginning of last year for, roughly speaking, for three times the amount of the EBITDA generated by that part of the business, which amounts to about 100 million and a bit in total," Matijosaitis told BNS.

In his words, based on the group's structure at the time, some companies were sold by Viciunai Group and others were sold by its parenting company VG Holding, which is why collecting data from the records of individual companies, he said, significantly distorts the picture.

"Accounting-wise, the company made a loss on this transaction, as the book value of the shares was slightly higher than the amount of the transaction," Matijosaitis said.

Based on the operational data for 2024, Viciunai Group sold 100 percent in Viciunai-Rus, a Kaliningrad-based crab stick and fish product factory, and BaltKo, a trading company for these products, as well as the other indirectly owned companies in the East, for 76.7 million euros, the experts who consulted BNS estimate.

Meanwhile, according to VG Holding's report, it received around 25.4 million euros for Russian companies Fort Trans Logistika, LK Centrus, Frost Logistics, RefTerminal, ViciRusTrans and other companies operating in the East, the experts estimate. 

Viciunai Group sold a total of 15 companies to Russia's Ocean Group in April 2024 after trying 

to sell their Russian business since the spring of 2022 when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

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Lithuania's DefMin launches tender for development of Kairiai military campus

VILNIUS, Jun 06, BNS – Lithuania's Defense Ministry has launched a tender for the development of infrastructure a military campus within the Kairiai training area in Klaipeda District and for the purchase of public services, the ministry said on Friday, adding that the project will be developed through a public-private partnership.

"The Kairiai military campus will accommodate around 1,500 Lithuanian troops, therefore, this project will significantly contribute to the strengthening of Lithuania's defense capabilities. This military campus will provide the necessary infrastructure for the national division we are developing as the latter would become the main maneuver unit in case of war," Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said.

Companies will have to submit initial proposals for the implementation of the projects by the end of this year, followed by technical, financial and legal negotiations. The final bids are expected to be submitted and contracts signed by the end of next year.

The ministry estimates that the state's financial share for the development of the Kairiai military campus through PPP could amount to around 521 million euros, including VAT. And a private investor would invest up to 345.5 million euros, excluding VAT, in the facility, its design and construction over the course of three years, and then will maintain it for another 12 years.

According to the Defense Ministry, the Kairiai military campus will cover an area of about 80 hectares. The complex will include residential buildings, administrative facilities, sports and recreational infrastructure, storage and technical buildings, and transport and helipads.

The total area of the buildings to be built will be about 67,000 square meters, while the area of engineering structures will be about 30,000 square meters. This infrastructure will also contribute to the integration of NATO allied troops in Lithuania.

The design and construction of the campus is planned to start in 2027.

By Algimantė Ambrulaitytė

 

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