LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, January 4, 2024
2. Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
3. Lithuanian parlt speaker to visit US troops in Pabrade 
4. Ex-Lithuanian president calls president, ForMin's public ambassador dispute 'unnecessary'
5. Lithuania expects answer on remaining frozen RRF funds within months – minister
6. Lithuanian parlt may get back to tax reform when considering individual taxes – minister
7. Vilnius' ex-mayor Simasius to run for European Parliament 
8. Over 27,000 on Lithuania's 2024 military conscription lists compiled amid reform debate
9. Lithuanian watchdog receives 65 pct more reports of negative info for children in 2023
10. Ex-mayor of Lithuania's Alytus named suspect in municipal funds misuse probe 
11. Lithuanian parlt speaker visits US troops, discusses combat training plans
12. Lithuania's Viciunai Group labelled 'international war sponsor' by Ukraine  
13. Lithuanian MP fails again in his bid to have prison sentence execution suspended
14. Lithuania's Viciunai Group keeps mum after Ukraine labels it 'international war sponsor'
15. Lithuania's ForMin expresses strong protest over Russia's drone, missile attack on Ukraine
16. Lithuania's EducMin mulls phasing out Russian schools – minister
17. Head of Belarusian sanatorium stripped of Lithuanian residence permit (media)

Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, January 4, 2024

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, January 4, 2024:

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND SPORT MINISTER Gintaras Jakstas to meet with Indian Ambassador to Lithuania Devesh Uttam at 2 p.m.

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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Lithuanian border guards recorded no attempts to cross into the country from Belarus illegally for the third day in a row on Wednesday, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Thursday morning.

Latvia did not report any attempts at illegal border crossings on Wednesday either. One irregular migrant was 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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Lithuanian parlt speaker to visit US troops in Pabrade 

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, on Thursday is to visit rotational US troops in Camp Herkus at the General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area in Pabrade, close to Vilnius. 

At Camp Herkus, Cmilyte-Nielsen will be shown the US troops' combat training and living conditions and their equipment and weapons. 

The speaker of the Seimas will be accompanied on the visit by Tamir Waser, chargé d'affaires ad interim at the US embassy to Lithuania, Ilona Petrove, her spokeswoman, has told BNS.  

The current rotation consists of troops from the Hounds of the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment (3-67) and the Battle Kings, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery (1-9),

They have brought M1A2 Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, trucks, ATVs and other military equipment to Lithuania.

The American troops deployed for the nine-month rotation from their home base in Fort Stewart, Georgia.

In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington last year stepped up its military presence in the Baltic countries and changed the status of American forces in Lithuania to "a persistent rotational presence".  
 
 

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Ex-Lithuanian president calls president, ForMin's public ambassador dispute 'unnecessary'

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – The ongoing public dispute between the presidential office and the Foreign Ministry over the appointment of ambassadors is unnecessary, ex-Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus says.

"I don't think that the ongoing dispute is about protecting or advancing one's position. It seems to me that it is an unnecessary public debate," Adamkus said in an interview with the public broadcaster LRT's "Dienos Tema" (The Topic of the Day) on Wednesday.

Adamkus, who served two terms as president, said he would try to discuss problems privately during his terms to avoid stirring up confrontation in public.

"Of course, there were various misunderstandings, but since we felt that this could lead to unnecessary talk and confrontation, we tried to discuss the whole matter during meetings and find the best solution," the former president said. "If this was true today, instead of the attempts to cause confrontation in public and necessarily making one's views public, we would not have that tension."

The Foreign Ministry and the presidential office are at loggerheads over who should be Lithuania's ambassador to Poland.

The presidential office says the candidates put forward by the Foreign Ministry so far were not suitable and has recently proposed changing the ministry's existing rules for selecting ambassadors.

Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says President Gitanas Nauseda has not named candidates he could have put forward to the relevant Seimas committee. Also, the ministry sees in the president's recent request for information on the selection of candidates for Lithuanian ambassadors a possible overstepping of constitutional powers.

Adamkus says public discussion on candidates would not solve the problem.

"Exchanging opinions in public that one is good, the other is bad, one is suitable, one speaks languages, the other does not, adds nothing to the solution," the former president point out.

Landsbergis has indirectly confirmed that the candidate rejected by the president was diplomat Giedrius Puodziunas. 

Nauseda has also revealed that there have been internal discussions on appointing diplomats Kestutis Kudzmanas or Petras Zapolskis as ambassador to Poland.

In Lithuania, ambassadors are appointed by the president, on the nomination of the government and with the approval of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs.

By Saulius Jakučionis

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Lithuania expects answer on remaining frozen RRF funds within months – minister

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – A decision on whether Lithuania will be allowed to use the rest of the frozen Recovery and Resilience Facility funds is expected within a few months, Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste says after the European Commission released almost 9 million euros of the frozen 26 million euros in RRF funds in December.

More than 17 million euros remain frozen due to Lithuania's failure to achieve a target related to tax relief, she said.

"The European Commission has unfrozen 8.5 million euros related to the real estate tax and environmental taxes. On another indicator, which was related to the review of tax relief, (the EC - BNS) asked for additional information, we have provided that information, we have provided additional information, so we expect to have a final answer within the next few months," Skaiste told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Thursday.

The higher amounts to be paid during the later stages of RRF payments have to do with the adoption of these tax laws, so an agreement on the necessary tax changes needs to be found before the end of 2026 as the RRF funds is planned for this period.

The Finance Ministry said earlier Lithuania expected to receive around 230 million euros in RRF funds under the second application. However, her spokesman Paulius Baniunas said in December that Lithuania would not be able to submit the second application, if it had failed to meet three of the 19 indicators.

By Giedrius Gaidamavičius

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Lithuanian parlt may get back to tax reform when considering individual taxes – minister

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS - The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, may still return to the tax reform during its spring session, but this would require the ruling coalition's joint agreement, Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste says, adding that coalition partners have been offered the possibility to make decisions on individual taxes rather than on the whole package.

"I can say that I am personally open to discussions, and we have offered to the coalition partners to consider individual solutions. Perhaps we can try to solve the tax package in separate pieces, but this probably requires a joint agreement as more than half of MPs need to vote to pass laws in the Seimas, so without the participation of at least one of the interested parties, clearly, it's impossible to make that decision," Skaiste told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Thursday.

The tax reform was one of this government's key goals. The Seimas gave its initial backing to the reform last summer, but the reform has since stalled as ruling coalition partners disagree on a number of issues. The reform included, among other things, higher taxes for holders of individual activity certificates and a broader real estate tax base.

Skaiste says the debate on tax reform is ongoing, adding that the current ruling coalition could make a decision on the issue without leaving it to others.

By Valdas Pryšmantas

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Vilnius' ex-mayor Simasius to run for European Parliament 

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Remigijus Simasius, a former mayor of Vilnius and now a member of the capital's municipal council, on Thursday announced his decision to return to active politics and run for the European Parliament this year. 

"Last year's retreat from active politics has made me even more aware of its lack of competence, genuine humanity and responsible leadership," he posted on Facebook.

Simasius, one of the founders of the liberal Freedom Party, served two terms as mayor of Vilnius between 2015 and 2023. He ran only for councilor in last year's municipal elections and was elected, and later took up positions in two think tanks.

As the duties of a municipal councilor and a member of the European Parliament are incompatible, Simasius would have to give up one of the mandates if elected to the parliament.

This week, the Freedom Party started the registration of candidates for the ranking of its list for the European Parliament elections scheduled in Lithuania for June 9.

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Over 27,000 on Lithuania's 2024 military conscription lists compiled amid reform debate

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Over 27,000 young men are on Lithuania's 2024 draftee lists compiled by the Defense Ministry on Thursday, most likely for the last time under the current model as politicians are considering reforming the military conscription system. 

"This year's draftee list includes 27,291 Lithuanian citizens," Arunas Balciunas, head of the Military Conscription and Recruitment Service, said after the conscription lists were randomly generated by a computer program in the presence of independent observers. 

The draftee lists are to be published online at https://sauktiniai.karys.lt by January 10.

A total of 3,845 men aged between 18 and 23 years will be actually called up for a nine-month military service this year.  

The first conscripts are expected to start their service at the Air Defense Battalion in Radviliskis in early February.  

Higher education students are not included in the lists, but they can be called up for one year after graduation until the age of 26. They can suspend their studies during their compulsory military service or complete junior officer command training over three years while studying. 

There is also an option to perform voluntary non-permanent military service in the National Defense Volunteer Force.

All men and women aged between 18 and 38 can volunteer for enlistment in the Armed Forces. 

Up to 5,000 to be conscripted in future 

"This year, the conscription system is still operating under the current regulations," Deputy Defense Minister Zilvinas Tomkus told reporters after pressing a symbolic button launching the computer program. 

"We expect that the Seimas will approve the proposals to amend the Law on Military Conscription (...) to create the legal prerequisites for moving towards universal conscription," he said. 
 
The draft subscription reform, which would allow drafting more young men, passed the first reading in the parliament at the end of the fall session.  

The latest proposal tabled by the government calls for drafting men aged 18 to 21 after school and does not allow deferring service for higher education students.    

The reform will also allow conscripts to choose either six months or nine months of compulsory military service. 

The Defense Ministry expects that up to 5,000 young men could be conscripted each year once the reform is implemented.   

"There is a need and there are possibilities," Tomkus said. "If we switched to the new system in 2025, it does not mean that we would reach 5,000 (conscripts) immediately. The Lithuanian Armed Forces have to adapt to this change, which takes time." 

The ministry estimates that calling up around 5,000 young men would require an investment ranging from three million to five million euros.

The finalization and approval of the conscription reform has taken almost a year. However, the ruling conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats expect to reach an agreement with other political parties on universal conscription as well. 

"Universal conscription would require significantly greater resources because we would be talking about a new structure, new infrastructure," the vice-minister said. 

The parliament reintroduced the nine-month permanent compulsory initial military service in 2015.

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Lithuanian watchdog receives 65 pct more reports of negative info for children in 2023

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Lithuania's Communications Regulatory Authority received 65 percent more reports of online content that is banned or has negative impact on minors, the watchdog reported on Thursday.

Its internet hotline svarusinternetas.lt (cleaninternet.lt) received a total of 2,516 reports last year

Irma Kazliene, who leads the authority's Digital Services Regulatory Group, says the majority of the reports had to do with sexual abuse of children. There were 669 such cases last year, up from 272 in 2022. 

The authority followed up 1,475 cases, of which 643 had to do with children's sexual abuse.

"34 reports were forwarded to the Police Department for further investigation and 32 reports were forwarded to the Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics for further investigation amid suspicion of a negative impact on minors," Kazliene said.

Several hundred notifications were sent to online hotlines in other countries, to members of INHOPE is a global network of hotlines committed to combating child sexual abuse material, to ISPs in different countries, to website owners, to social media operators with Notice and Take Down notifications regarding banned content on their websites or networks, with a request for such content to be removed immediately.

Social media account hackers were particularly active in the second half of the year, Kazliene said.

The authority also consulted 17 percent more of social media users in 2023.

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Ex-mayor of Lithuania's Alytus named suspect in municipal funds misuse probe 

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Lithuania's Special Investigation Service (SIS) has brought formal suspicions against Algirdas Vrubliauskas, a former mayor of the southern district of Alytus, in its ongoing investigation into councilors' use of allowances for office supplies. 

Vrubliauskas, a member of the conservative Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats who currently serves as a councilor, is suspected of abuse, fraud and falsification and use of documents, the anti-corruption agency said in a press release on Thursday.

According to the investigation, Vrubliauskas may have declared his personal fuel and vehicle repair costs as expenses related to his activities as a councilor.  

It is suspected that the former mayor submitted forged documents to the municipal administration, thus fraudulently obtaining almost 20,000 euros during the previous term.

The SIS is currently conducting investigations regarding allowances to councilors in 19 municipalities.

As part of the investigations, formal suspicions have also been brought against three other persons, including Jonava Mayor Mindaugas Sinkevicius, who has stepped down as president of the Association of Local Authorities in Lithuania.

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Lithuanian parlt speaker visits US troops, discusses combat training plans

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, met with rotational US troops in Camp Herkus at the General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area in Pabrade, close to Vilnius, and discussed combat training plans.

"Today in Pabrade, I was shown the allied equipment and weaponry. I familiarized myself with the training and living conditions of American soldiers. I talked to the troops and learned about their needs," Cmilyte-Nielsen said.

"We also discussed plans for combat training and the development of the Pabrade training area," she added.

The speaker emphasized the importance of ensuring the best service and living conditions for the allied troops stationed in Lithuania in bolstering the forward defense of NATO's eastern flank, the parliament's public relations office said in a press release.

Cmilyte-Nielsen was accompanied on the visit to Pabrade by Tamir Waser, chargé d'affaires ad interim at the US embassy to Lithuania.  

The current US rotation, stationed in Pabrade since late September, consists of troops from the Hounds of the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment (3-67) and the Battle Kings, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery (1-9),

They have brought M1A2 Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, trucks, ATVs and other military equipment to Lithuania.

The American troops deployed for the nine-month rotation from their home base in Fort Stewart, Georgia.

In the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Washington last year stepped up its military presence in the Baltic countries and changed the status of American forces in Lithuania to "a persistent rotational presence".  

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Lithuania's Viciunai Group labelled 'international war sponsor' by Ukraine  

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) announced on Thursday that it has added Lithuania's Viciunai Group, the owner of the Vici food brand, to the list of international war sponsors because it continues to operate in the Russian market.

"After the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, representatives of Viciunai Group promised that the company would leave the Russian market; nevertheless, Vici continues to operate its facilities in Russia, looking for new employees and paying significant taxes to the aggressor's budget," the agency said in a press release.  

"This was the reason for the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to add Viciunai Group to the list of international sponsors of war," it said.

Hundreds of Western companies exited he Russian market in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv has publicly criticized those that stayed, adding them to the list.

"Back in March 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the head of the Lithuanian group, Sarunas Matijosaitis, said that the company would leave the Russian market within 3–4 months," the NACP said on Thursday. 

"Instead, it was revealed that Viciunai does not stop its work in Russia and remains one of the most favorite brands of Russian consumers," it said. 

The Lithuanian group "is conducting its business in Russia as usual without any layoffs, successfully defending the Russian trademark in court, and continuing to recruit staff for its subsidiaries, supporting the labor market in Russia", it said.

"As long as well-known brands such as Vici continue to be on the Russian market, despite all the aggressor's war crimes, the world is getting the wrong signal that Russia remains part of international economic processes. And the people of Russia see that the democratic world has not turned its back on them, and they are doing everything right," Oleksandr Novikov, head of the NACP, was quoted as saying in the press release. 

"Many companies have already made the right choice in favor of the values of democracy and integrity by leaving the Russian market. However, Viciunai Group was not one of them and failed to go beyond its empty promises," he added.  

Viciunai Group's owners say they have been trying to sell their business in Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad since the spring of 2022, but unsuccessfully so far.

The group's factory in Sovetsk posted a net profit of 24.872 million euros for 2022, almost a three-fold increase from 2021, as revenue grew by 6.5 percent to 216.56 million euros. 

Visvaldas Matijosaitis, mayor of Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas, and his business partner Liudas Skierus each hold 50 percent of shares in VG Holding, the owner of Viciunai Group. 

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Lithuanian MP fails again in his bid to have prison sentence execution suspended

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Lithuanian MP Vytautas Gapsys' second bid to have the execution of his prison sentence in a high-profile political corruption case suspended has failed as the country's Supreme Court has once again rejected his request.

"The request has been rejected," Rimante Kraulise, spokesperson for the court, told BNS on Thursday.

The court ruled that the suspension of the execution of a court sentence is an exception to the general rule and is possible only in exceptional circumstances.

The judicial panel agreed that securing an MP's so-called free mandate (unrestricted performance of one's duties) is incompatible (hardly compatible) with the actual execution of a prison sentence, but disagreed with Gapsys' defense lawyer that this was a ground for suspending the execution of a verdict in force.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, a final court judgment and ruling are binding on all state and municipal authorities and officials, companies, institutions and organizations and individuals and must be enforced without objection and without hindrance throughout the territory of Lithuania, the Supreme Court said.

Gapsys once again asked for the execution of his prison sentence suspended after Lithuanian lawmakers failed to strip him of his mandate last December and cited that "new circumstances emerged".

In November, 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. Several days later, he appealed and asked for the execution of his prison sentence to be suspended, but the Supreme Court rejected his request.

Gapsys was convicted for taking a bribe from Raimondas Kurlianskis, a former vice president of MG Baltic (now MG Grupe) 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.

Politicians are now considering amending the Constitution to abolish MP's legal immunity from prosecution and to automatically revoke their mandates upon conviction.

By Ingrida Steniulienė

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Lithuania's Viciunai Group keeps mum after Ukraine labels it 'international war sponsor'

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Viciunu Grupe (Viciunai Group), a business group producing and selling seafood and other food products, owned by Visvaldas Matijosaitis, mayor of Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas, and his business partner Liudas Skierus, has refrained to comment on a recent decision by Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) to add it to the list of international war sponsors because it continues its operations in Russia.

"This time, Viciunu Grupe refrains from commenting," the company told BNS when asked to comment on such a decision and also asked at what stage it is in its efforts to exit the Russian market.

According to the Ukrainian agency, the Lithuanian group "is conducting its business in Russia as usual without any layoffs, successfully defending the Russian trademark in court, and continuing to recruit staff for its subsidiaries, supporting the labor market in Russia".

The Lithuanian group's owners say they have been unsuccessfully trying to sell their business in Russia's exclave of Kaliningrad since the spring of 2022 when Russian invaded Ukraine.

According to information available to BNS, once a potential buyer is found, the deal will be considered by the Russian government's commission controlling foreign investments.

By Erika Alonderytė-Kazlauskė

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

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Lithuania's ForMin expresses strong protest over Russia's drone, missile attack on Ukraine

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Lithuania's Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed its strong protest to Russia over the recent missile and drone attacks on Ukraine.

A representative of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius was summoned to the ministry on Thursday to express strong protest over Russia's recent missile and drone attacks against Ukraine, one of the largest since the start of its large-scale invasion in February 2022, the ministry said.

"Lithuania strongly condemns Russia's war against Ukraine, including these brutal acts of aggression, and calls on Russia to put an immediate end to it," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Over the past few days, Russia has launched a total of more than 500 missiles and Shahed 'kamikaze' drones at Ukraine, mostly targeting Ukraine's civilian and critical infrastructure, according to Kyiv. The Ukrainians have shot down most of the missiles but residential buildings, maternity homes, hospitals, houses of worship and schools have still been damaged. Four people have reportedly been killed.

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Lithuania's EducMin mulls phasing out Russian schools – minister

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Lithuania could gradually phase out education in the Russian language, while national minority schools where the education process is done using the languages of EU countries or countries friendly to Lithuania could continue, Education, Science and Sport Minister Gintautas Jakstas says.

"Our neighbors, the Latvians and Estonians, have not only renounced schools where the language of instruction is Russian, but they are also going down the path of not teaching Russian as a foreign language. (...) Apparently, we should learn from our neighbors. One thing is that we should focus on EU languages, so that the education of national minorities takes place in their own language, and we might have bilateral agreements with other countries, if they are a friendly country, such as Ukraine," Jakstas told the Ziniu Radijas news radio on Thursday.

In his words, the ministry is currently looking into ways to suspend the use of Russian as a language of instruction, with a proposal expected over the next few weeks.

"We need to start thinking about what those solutions would be. It is too early to say what they would be. We are now immersed in the assessment of schools, and I hope to have a proposal over the next few weeks," Jakstas said.

According to the minister, the question is why general education schools in Lithuania use the languages of unfriendly countries as languages of instruction.

Moreover, he says, teaching all subjects in the language of a national minority does a disservice to children by making it harder for them to integrate into society.

The education minister pointed out that Russian schools would not be closed, especially as there is a shortage of schools in Vilnius and Klaipeda, but the language of instruction should be changed, either by teaching more subjects in Lithuanian or by switching to Lithuanian education, but that would be done for children just starting their education.

"If we wish to start making changes, it should be done consistently, starting with the formation of new classes," Jakstas said, adding that it should not be difficult for teachers at Russian schools to switch to teaching in Lithuanian because they speak the state language.

The minister also urged not to link the renewed debate on national minority schools with the recent incident when teenagers at a Russian school fired a pneumatic weapon at a classmate because he was against the war in Ukraine.

"I do understand that those children are remorseful for what they did. You can be wrong and we can't label them," Jakstas said.

For her part, Vaiva Vezelyte-Pokladova, head of the National Minorities Policy Analysis and Information Division of the Department of National Minorities, told the Ziniu Radijas radio station she was against the closure of schools of one national minority.

"If we talk only about Russian-language schools, we would be against the marginalization of one nationality. Closing schools of one nationality and completely denying children the opportunity to cherish their nationality would certainly not be a decision that should be made at this time," she said.

Under the existing law, local authorities in areas with traditionally large national minorities guarantee education in the language of the national minority at the request of the local community.

National minority schools mostly operate in southeastern Lithuania where children receive education in national minority languages in nearly 100 schools in nine municipalities.

According to the National Agency for Education, over 47,000 children attended educational establishments for national minorities, from kindergartens to schools, in the academic year of 2020-2021.

Around 14,000 pupils are now attending general education schools with Russian as the language of instruction, mostly in Vilnius, Visaginas and Klaipeda.

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Head of Belarusian sanatorium stripped of Lithuanian residence permit (media)

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – Belarusian citizen Ilya Epifanov, head of Belorus, a Belarusian-owned sanatorium in Lithuania's southern city of Druskininkai, has had his residence permit in Lithuania revoked, the 15min news website reported on Thursday. 

Epifanov was refused entry to Lithuania before Christmas because his residence permit had been revoked.

"The permit was revoked on December 15 due to a threat to national security," Rokas Pukinskas , spokesperson for the Migration Department, said. 

Epifanov is currently in Belarus. He has called the decision 'political' and says he has already appealed.

Up until mid-June 2021, Belorus was owned by the Main Economic Office (GHU), directly subordinate to the Belarusian president's administration and led by Viktor Sheiman, who was put on the EU sanctions list more than a decade ago. But after his retirement in June 2021, the sanatorium was transferred to the Republican Center for Health Improvement and Sanatorium Treatment of the Population of Belarus under Alexander Lukashenko's order.

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LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. Patriarchate of Constantinople set to complete church structure set-up in Lithuania
2. Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
3. Lithuanian court to hear Karach's appeal against denial of asylum
4. Two people die in major fire in Vilnius apartment block
5. Lithuania to buy multifunction radar systems from the Netherlands
6. Police in Lithuania find over 2 kilos of cocaine inside car
7. Lithuanian president's requests on ambassadors may violate separation of powers – ministry
8. Case of arms smuggling to Russia by Vilnius district resident goes to court 
9. Lithuanian court to rule on Belarusian activist Karach's asylum appeal on Jan 10
10. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, January 4, 2024
11. Last December was least sunny month in Lithuania's history

Patriarchate of Constantinople set to complete church structure set-up in Lithuania

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS - The Patriarchate of Constantinople will complete the establishment of an Orthodox Church structure in Lithuania - an exarchate - later this week, one of its members said on Wednesday.

The structure will be established in Lithuania under canon law following the arrival of the head of the new exarchate, Estonian priest Justinus Kiviloo, priest Gintaras Sungaila said.

"With his arrival, the formation of the church structure in Lithuania will be completed," Sungaila told BNS. "With the canonical side of the matter settled, we are now going to register as a religious community under secular law."

Kiviloo will arrive in Lithuania on Friday and hold his first service on Saturday.

Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople announced his intention to set up a church structure in Lithuania in March when he visited the country and reinstated five former priests of the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese, which is subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate

Sungaila says the new exarchate will seek the status of a traditional religious community.

"We want to have the legal status of a traditional religious community as in Lithuania it was our religious community that established the first official church structure in the 14th century, the Lithuanian Metropolia. It was the structure of the Patriarchate of Constantinople," he said.

Orthodox Christians in Lithuania are considered one of the nine traditional religious communities, so the recognition of the Exarchate of Constantinople will not require a Seimas resolution as the decision on their registration will be made by the Justice Ministry.

Such recognition would also allow the exarchate to receive financial state allocated to traditional religious communities.

According to Sungaila, the new exarch plans to meet with representatives of Lithuanian state institutions that decide on the registration of a religious community. The clergy have not yet discussed in detail how they would spend state aid, if allocated, he added.

Five members of the new exarchate were defrocked by the Lithuanian Orthodox Archdiocese in 2022 for their alleged canonical offenses, but Constantinople later ruled that they were punished for their position on the issue of Russia's invasion in Ukraine, not for breaking the canonical rules.

The new exarchate will include a total of ten clergy and ten congregations in different Lithuanian cities.

Sungaila says Orthodox Christians subordinate to Constantinople do not yet have their own houses of worship in Lithuania and either rent spaces or are allowed to use spaces for free by Roman Catholic and Protestant religious communities.

By Saulius Jakučionis, Augustas Stankevičius

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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus

VILNIUS, Jan 03, 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 Wednesday morning.

Latvia did not report any attempts at illegal border crossings on Tuesday either. Eight irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Monday, 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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Lithuanian court to hear Karach's appeal against denial of asylum

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS – The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania is to hear on Wednesday Belarusian activist Olga Karach's appeal against a lower court's ruling to uphold the Migration Department's decision not to grant her asylum in Lithuania.

Neringa Lukoseviciene, the Supreme Administrative Court's spokeswoman, has told BNS that a three-judge panel will hear the appeal by written procedure in a closed session.

The court's ruling will be final and not subject to appeal.

Last August, the Migration Department denied the Belarusian activist asylum, citing as the reason the State Security Department's conclusion that her residence in the country posed a national security threat due to her alleged ties with Russian intelligence.

Karach, the head of the Our House (Nash Dom) organization, appealed the ruling, but the lower court in November upheld the Migration Department's decision.

The migration body has granted the activist a temporary residence permit in Lithuania on humanitarian grounds, which can be extended. 

While her asylum case is pending in court, she will maintain the status of an asylum seeker, which also allows her to stay in Lithuania.

Karach has confirmed that she was warned by the State Security Department's officers last spring over her ties to Russian intelligence, but she refrained from elaborating further on this issue.

The activist, who has been receiving residence permits in Lithuania since 2014, applied for asylum last year.

Our House says it provides humanitarian, psychological and other assistance to Belarusians both in their homeland and in Lithuania, and also monitors human rights violations.

The organization was declared extremist by Minsk in 2022. Karach was put on the "terrorist list" by the Belarusian KGB in 2021.

By Ingrida Steniulienė

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Two people die in major fire in Vilnius apartment block

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS - Two people were killed and four needed medical attention after a fire broke out in a five-story Soviet-era apartment block in the Virsuliskes residential area of Vilnius on Tuesday.

The explosion and the fire that engulfed several floors of the building were reported just before noon on Tuesday and firefighters were extinguishing the fire until Wednesday morning.

According to the Fire and Rescue Department, the bodies of two people were found at the fire site, including of a small child who was missing since the fire started. They cannot be retrieved as there are fears that the building's supporting structures may collapse.

The Vilnius authorities declared as state of emergency at the burned apartment block on Tuesday night. They say 57 residents were left homeless by the fire. Some of them have been temporarily accommodated in hotels, while others are staying with relatives.

The cause of the explosion and the fire is not yet clear, with a gas leak being one of the possible explanations.

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Lithuania to buy multifunction radar systems from the Netherlands

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS – Lithuania's Defense Ministry will buy multifunctional artillery radar systems Thales GM200 MM/C from Dutch company Thales Nederland, the ministry said on Wednesday.

"The artillery radar systems to be purchased by Lithuania will significantly strengthen artillery capabilities," Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said, adding that the aim of these radars is to identify the positions of the enemy's indirect fire systems based on the trajectory of the projectiles fired and to ensure a rapid response to enemy fire.

"This is a very important purchase," the minister underlined.

The agreement signed between the Defense Ministries of Lithuania and the Netherlands also provides for cooperation in the field of multifunction radar support. The possible participation of the Lithuanian defense industry in similar projects is also under discussion.

The project is worth 126.7 million euros and it also includes a logistics package that covers technical documentation, the training of operators and maintenance personnel, the initial spare parts package, special tool kit and test equipment.

The first radar systems are expected to be delivered to Lithuania by 2026.

Thales GM200 MM/C artillery radar systems have been developed in cooperation with the Dutch Armed Forces as a multifunctional system so that they can be used both for air surveillance and can also be integrated into air defense systems, if required.

Thales GM200 MM/C systems have been purchased by the Dutch and Norwegian armies.

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Police in Lithuania find over 2 kilos of cocaine inside car

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS – Police officers in Lithuania's southern city of Marijampole have seized over two kilograms of cocaine, an illegal firearm and an SUV stolen in France, the Marijampole County Police reported on Wednesday.

The large amount of drugs was seized during an undercover operation carried out in cooperation with officers from the State Border Guard Service. During the operation, a Mercedes-Benz driven by a Jurbarkas resident was stopped and police officers searched the vehicle and found cocaine stashed inside.

Meanwhile, in Jurbarkas, officers detained another local resident also linked to cocaine smuggling. Having noticed police officers, the man tried to escape but failed to do so as officers chased him down and used physical force to detain him.

A search at his address in Jurbarkas resulted in the discovery of an illegally stored PM combat pistol with a sound suppressor and ammunition. A luxury Audi Q5 SUV, stolen in France and looked for by law enforcement authorities, was also seized from one of the detainees.

Both suspects are now in custody.

A pre-trial investigation into the illegal disposal and smuggling of drugs is underway, and the men are facing up to 18 years in prison.

By Ingrida Steniulienė

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Lithuanian president's requests on ambassadors may violate separation of powers – ministry

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS – The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it will respond to an inquiry from President Gitanas Nauseda's office about selection procedures for ambassadorial candidates, but added that such requests may have signs of exceeding constitutional powers.

The chancellor of the president's office wrote to the Foreign Ministry's chancellor on Tuesday, asking her to provide Nauseda with documents on the selection procedures carried out by the ministry to fill the positions of the heads of Lithuania's diplomatic missions, including the embassy to Poland.

Paulina Levickyte, spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, told BNS on Wednesday that the inquiry will be answered "in accordance with the procedure laid down by law".

"It should be noted that the minister has provided the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs with a detailed chronology of the depoliticized selection procedure for the heads of diplomatic institutions and the procedure for the approval of candidates," the spokeswoman said.  

"The president's adviser was also present at the meeting," she added.  

Levickyte noted that, under the Constitution, the president appoints and recalls Lithuania's diplomatic representatives to foreign states "upon submission by the government". 

"The president's representatives or the chancellor are not granted any rights or powers in the procedure of candidate selection and submission," the spokeswoman said.

"Therefore, such requests may have signs of exceeding constitutional powers and may violate the principle of separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution," she added.

The president's office proposes to change the Foreign Ministry's procedure for appointing ambassadors.

According to Frederikas Jansonas, an adviser to Nauseda, it could be similar to the procedure for appointing judges, where the president is informed about all candidates in the selection process, not just the first-ranked one.

The proposal comes amid continuing disagreements over the appointment of the Lithuanian ambassador to Poland.

By Vilmantas Venckūnas

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Case of arms smuggling to Russia by Vilnius district resident goes to court 

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS – A criminal case in which a Vilnius District resident is accused of arms smuggling and violating international sanctions by transporting weapons to and from Russia has been has sent to court for trial. 

Charges have been brought not only against the 47-year-old man, but also against the company he managed, the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor's Office said on Wednesday. 

According to the pre-trial investigation, the defendant, acting for the benefit of the company, transported weapons and their parts, and ammunition to and from Russia through Kyrgyzstan between 2019 and 2021.

It shows that the man imported almost 1,300 firearms, 3,300 firearm parts and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition by air from Russia via Kyrgyzstan into Lithuania between early 2019 and August 2020. 

Law enforcement suspects that between 2019 and 2021, the defendant exported 406 firearms, 16 firearm parts, and over 500,000 rounds of ammunition from the EU to Kyrgyzstan. The man failed to declare the actual country of final destination in customs documents and knew that the weapons would later be transferred to their final recipients – companies and individuals in Russia.

According to the investigation, in order to obtain permits to trade in weapons, their parts and ammunition, the man submitted documents which, it is believed, deliberately omitted data identifying the weapons, such as the country of their acquisition.

The criminal case will be heard by the Vilnius Regional Court. 

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Lithuanian court to rule on Belarusian activist Karach's asylum appeal on Jan 10

VILNIUS, Jan 03, BNS – The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania will issue its ruling on Belarusian activist Olga Karach's asylum appeal on January 10.

"The announcement (of the judgement) has been postponed until January 10," Neringa Lukoseviciene, the court's spokeswoman, confirmed to BNS. 

Karach's appeal against a lower court's ruling to uphold the Migration Department's decision not to grant her asylum in Lithuania was heard by a three-judge panel by written procedure in a closed session earlier on Wednesday.

The Supreme Administrative Court's ruling will be final and not subject to appeal.

Last August, the Migration Department denied the Belarusian activist asylum, citing as the reason the State Security Department's conclusion that her residence in the country posed a national security threat due to her alleged ties with Russian intelligence.

Karach, the head of the Our House (Nash Dom) organization, appealed the Migration Department's decision, but the lower court upheld in November.

The migration body has granted the activist a temporary residence permit in Lithuania on humanitarian grounds, which can be extended. 

While her asylum case is pending in court, she will maintain the status of an asylum seeker, which also allows her to stay in Lithuania.

Karach has confirmed that she was warned by the State Security Department's officers last spring over her ties to Russian intelligence, but she refrained from elaborating further on this issue.

The activist, who has been receiving residence permits in Lithuania since 2014, applied for asylum last year.

Our House says it provides humanitarian, psychological and other assistance to Belarusians both in their homeland and in Lithuania, and also monitors human rights violations.

The organization was declared extremist by Minsk in 2022. Karach was put on the "terrorist list" by the Belarusian KGB in 2021.

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, January 4, 2024

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, January 4, 2024:

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND SPORT MINISTER Gintaras Jakstas to meet with Indian Ambassador to Lithuania Devesh Uttam at 2 p.m.

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Last December was least sunny month in Lithuania's history

VILNIUS, Jan 04, BNS - Meteorologists in Lithuania recorded the smallest number of sunny days in December 2023 since the middle of the last century.

"Having checked all months since the middle of the last century, we have found that December 2023 was the least sunny of all the months," the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service on Wednesday.

The sun was shining 8.7 hours on average in Lithuania in December, which is just one-third of the long-term norm of 29 hours.

The least sunny month in Lithuania before that was December 2018, with 9.9 hours of sunshine.

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