LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

 

1. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Friday, May 31, 2024
2. Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
3. Lithuania's Tax Freedom Day comes 8 days later this year
4. NATO will have to show it's serious about enlargement, Ukraine's victory – Landsbergis
5. Lithuanian formin expects NATO allies to agree on allowing Ukraine to use arms in Russia
6. Lithuanian, Portuguese army chiefs discuss bilateral, NATO cooperation
7. Lithuania needs to reform its pension system – head of IMF mission
8. Banks interpret promises on solidarity levy as they want – Lithuanian finmin
9. Swedish anti-aircraft missiles delivered to Lithuania
10. Lithuanian parlt donates cars, computers, fire extinguishers to Ukraine

 

 

Upcoming events in Lithuania for Friday, May 31, 2024

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Friday, May 31, 2024.

 

PRIME MINISTER Ingrida Simonyte to continue her visit to Singapore.

 

DEFENSE MINISTER Laurynas Kasciunas to attend the Shangri-la Dialogue 2024 security forum in Singapore.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER Gabrielius Landsbergis to continue his working visit to Prague, to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

 

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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – Thursday marked yet another day of no recorded attempts to cross into Lithuania from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Friday morning.

 

Latvia did not report any attempts at illegal border crossings on Thursday either. Some 151 irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Wednesday, according to the latest available information.

 

A total of 217 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

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Lithuania's Tax Freedom Day comes 8 days later this year

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – Increased government spending has caused Lithuania's Tax Freedom Day to arrive on May 31 this year, eight days later than last year, the Lithuanian Free Market Institute (LFMI) said on Friday.

 

Elena Leontjeva, the think-tank's president, says this year's Tax Freedom Day is special becasue taxes have remained practically unchanged, but government spending has risen, which is why the symbolic day has been pushed back and now coincides with the start of summer.

 

This year, five more days of work are needed to finance social protection and two additional days for national defense compared to last year.

 

According to the LFMI, this year's government spending is planned at over 30 billion euros, 7 percent higher than the projected tax revenue. The budget deficit of 3 percent of GDP is expected to be financed through borrowing.

 

Tax Freedom Day is a symbolic day of the year that shows how much of the income people earn goes to finance public spending.

 

The symbolic day is calculated and announced each year in many countries worldwide, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Scandinavian countries.

 

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NATO will have to show it's serious about enlargement, Ukraine's victory – Landsbergis

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – The time is approaching when NATO will have to show whether it is serious about helping Ukraine win the war, deter Russia and accept new members, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis says as NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Prague.

 

"I think the time is coming when it will be determined whether we as an alliance are serious. Serious about quite a lot of things. Are we serious about assisting Ukraine to win this war, are we serious to deter Russia, so that Russia has strategic dilemmas if it continues further in Ukraine but also if it continues with its hybrid activities in Europe and in NATO," Lithuania's top diplomat told journalist.

 

"I wish that this Alliance will find strength in itself and, celebrating the 75th anniversary, also very clearly declares that yes, we are serious, we can win, we can deter and we can invite new members," he added.

 

The time is also coming, he said, when it will become clear whether NATO is serious about accepting new members.

 

"We've been quite good at speaking nice words, making promises, but we have to start delivering on this. And it's not just about those who depend on our promises, but it's also about our credibility," Landsbergis underlined.

 

At the last foreign ministers' meeting before the Washington Summit, top diplomats from NATO countries are discussing the Alliance's long-term practical and political support to Ukraine and Ukraine's path to NATO membership.

 

The NATO Summit in Washington will take place on July 9-11.

 

By Vilmantas Venckūnas

 

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Lithuanian formin expects NATO allies to agree on allowing Ukraine to use arms in Russia

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis hopes that after listening to Kyiv's advice, NATO allies will agree on whether to allow Ukraine to use their supplied weapons to strike Russian territory.

 

"I've always been of an opinion that Ukrainians are absolutely capable of defining the targets. I have full confidence that they know, they see and they understand what is needed, where the threat comes from," Landsbergis told reporters on Friday ahead of an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague.

 

"I understand that not every country in the Alliance sees that way. But I hope that through the conversation with the Ukrainians, hearing the Ukrainians, the decisions will be formed," he said.

 

Speaking about Ukraine's potential targets on Russian territory, Landsbergis singled out military targets, such as troop camps and military equipment storage facilities.

 

"My hope is that the advice to the allies what they are going to allow comes from Ukraine," he said. 

 

Lithuania's top diplomat said he believes that if a military target were moved from Russia to Belarusian territory, Ukrainians could still strike it. 

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is pressing Kyiv's supporters, in particular the United States, to allow the use of their supplied longer-range weapons to hit targets on Russian territory.

 

It was reported on Thursday that US President Joe Biden had lifted restrictions on Ukraine's use of American-supplied weapons against targets on Russian territory, but only to defend the shelled Kharkiv region.

 

 

 

By Vilmantas Venckūnas

 

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Lithuanian, Portuguese army chiefs discuss bilateral, NATO cooperation

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – Chief of Defense of Lithuania has met with his Portuguese counterpart Jose Nunes da Fonseca and discussed key issues related to military cooperation between the two countries and in the NATO context, the Lithuanian army said on Friday.

 

The two chiefs of defense visited the Portuguese Air Force troops who currently deployed in Lithuania's Siauliai as part of NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission and the Portuguese Marines currently deployed in Klaipeda on a rotational basis at the Brigadier General Povilas Plechavicius training area.

 

The Portuguese chief of defense came to Lithuania together with the country's Defense Minister Nuno Melo who met with Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas on Thursday.

 

"Although we are geographically distant from each other across the European continent, Portugal has a global view of the security situation and a very good understanding of the threats facing our region," Rupsys said in the statement.

 

Portugal has been sending its troops and fighter jets to take part in the Baltic Air Policing mission since 2007, and the country's marines have been deployed in Klaipeda on a rotational basis since 2018.

 

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Lithuania needs to reform its pension system – head of IMF mission

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – Lithuania needs a structural reform of its pension system as its population continues to age, Borja Gracia, the head of an IMF mission, says.

 

"There needs to be a pension reform, a parametric (systemic – BNS) pension reform. Your pension system is benefiting from better than expected dynamics in the labor market, higher labor participation, higher employment in the short term, high wage growth," he told a seminar held by the IMF mission and the central Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius. "But aging is kicking and kicking quite significantly."

 

2024 is the first year when more people will retire in Lithuania than will enter the labor market, Gracia said, adding that the planned increase in the retirement age will end in 2026, which will further "increase pressure on the SoDra (Lithuania's social insurance fund – BNS)". 

 

By 2030, he said, the number of workers in Lithuania will fall from 1.8 million to 1.3 million and they will have to pay a large share of pensions, which will require a redistribution of the state budget.

 

The IMF mission chief also says that Lithuania needs to make its health and education systems more effective, as well as to increase budget revenue collection.

 

The Gracia-led IMF mission will work in Vilnius until June 7.

 

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

 

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Banks interpret promises on solidarity levy as they want – Lithuanian finmin

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – As Lithuanian politicians consider extending the so-called temporary bank solidarity levy and the industry's representatives accuse the government of breaking promises, Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste says that banks interpret promises the way they want to.

 

"The promise is understood by the side in the way they want to understand it. My promise is to prepare a legislative proposal that reflects the exceptional circumstances that have developed in the financial sector," Skaiste said at a seminar held by the Lithuanian central bank and the IMF mission in Vilnius on Friday. 

 

"At that time (spring 2023), the law was intended to be in effect for two years. However, if I see that the situation remains exceptional and atypical for at least another year, considering the needs for defense funding, I submit a proposal to extend the regulation," she said.

 

According to the minister, if an agreement is reached to increase the corporate income tax, the additional revenue for defense funding will only come in 2026, so the bank solidarity levy is a good way to raise extra funds in 2025.

 

Skaiste said on Thursday that the exceptional situation in the banking market would likely continue for at least another year.

 

"The European Central Bank is likely to start cutting interest rates in June," the minister told the parliament.

 

"This means that we can expect interest rates to stabilize in the second half of next year, which means that banks' profits from net interest income will fall," she said. 

 

The finance minister said last October that the temporary bank solidarity levy could not be extended in the future because the base on which the tax is calculated would not exist after 2024. 

 

Eivile Cipkute, president of the Association of Lithuanian Banks, which opposes the extension, has said that the government is breaking its promise that the levy, which was introduced last year, will be temporary. 

 

The parliament on Thursday agreed to debate bank solidarity levy proposals from both the government and the opposition, meaning that MPs will have to decide whether the tax will be collected for one more year or made permanent.

 

According to Skaiste, the central Bank of Lithuania estimates that the solidarity levy could generate 50 million to 70 million euros in revenue next year.  

 

 

 

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

 

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Swedish anti-aircraft missiles delivered to Lithuania

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS – Bolide missiles for the Swedish-made RBS-70 short-range anti-aircraft defense system have been delivered to the Lithuanian Armed Forces.   

 

The total value of the ammunition is 15 million euros, the Defense Ministry said on Friday. 

 

The Bolide-type missiles, which are designed for the RBS-70 system, will contribute to a more efficient performance of air defense tasks, it said.

 

The contract with Sweden's SAAB Dynamics AB on the acquisition of Bolide and MK-2 type guided missiles for the RBS-70 system was signed in the fall of 2022.

 

RBS-70 systems are used by the Lithuanian Air Defense Battalion.

 

The ministry has said that the system was chosen for its "undemanding operation and mobility, and for being completely mechanical and electromagnetic interference-proof".

 

 

 

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Lithuanian parlt donates cars, computers, fire extinguishers to Ukraine

 

VILNIUS, May 31, BNS - In response to Ukraine's request for urgent humanitarian aid, the Office of the Seimas of Lithuania has donated vehicles and office equipment to the military-civil administration of Tiahynka in Ukraine's the Kherson region.

 

The aid includes nine cars, 15 laptops, projectors, fire extinguishers and other items, the Seimas press service reports.

 

"We are supporting Ukraine as much as we can and we think that these cars will be very useful as we know that vehicles are very short-lived there and are always needed," Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen said.

 

Having recently visited Kherson, Seimas Vice Speaker Paulius Saudargas, says de-occupied areas along the frontline need all kinds of humanitarian aid the most. "They need everything," he said.

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LITHUANIA DAILY NEWS BULLETIN

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

 

1. ADVISORY: Update of BNS homepage and news portal for subscribers
2. Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, May 30, 2024
3. Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus
4. Lithuanian formin to discuss Washington summit with NATO counterparts in Prague
5. Proposal to extend bank solidarity levy to be presented to Lithuanian parliament
6. Lithuanian president's NATO procurement veto to be presented to parliament
7. EU ministers to decide on increased tariffs on Russian, Belarusian grain
8. Alcohol, tobacco consumption down in Lithuania
9. Natural gas prices for Lithuanian households to remain unchanged in H1
10. Kacinskas proposed for Lithuania's ambassador to Czech Republic
11. Lithuanian defmin off to Singapore to attend security forum
12. Minsk-linked Lithuanian co to produce new passports for Belarusian opposition (media)
13. Lithuania to set up special agency for migrant reception, accommodation
14. Lithuanian agrimin calls on EU to ban imports of all Russian agricultural products
15. Lithuanian MPs to debate both government, opposition proposals on bank solidarity levy  (updates)
16. Four suspected in Lithuania's probe into Viciunai Group's exports to Russia  (media)
17. BaltCap's lawsuit against Interactive Brokers to be heard in Lithuania behind closed doors
18. Stasys Eidrigevicius' Stasys Museum opens in Lithuania's Panevezys

 

 

ADVISORY: Update of BNS homepage and news portal for subscribers

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – The Baltic News Service will be updating its homepage at www.bns.lt and its news portal for subscribers starting at 8 p.m. on Thursday.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience or technical disruptions.

 

After the relaunch, users will find not only a redesigned webpage but also an enhanced news database with additional features (keywords, saved news, etc.).

 

The same login credentials as before will be used to access the BNS news database.

 

In case of critical technical issues, the current BNS homepage and news portal will be available at old.bns.lt for some time until the new platform is fixed.

 

If you have any questions, feedback, or access issues, please do not hesitate to contact us at (8 5) 205 85 01 or +370 698 34529, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

 

 

 

 

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Upcoming events in Lithuania for Thursday, May 30, 2024

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – The following events are scheduled in Lithuania for Thursday, May 30, 2024.

 

PRIME MINISTER Ingrida Simonyte to continue her visit to Singapore.

 

FOREIGN MINISTER Gabrielius Landsbergis to pay a working visit to Prague, to attend a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

 

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Lithuania records no illegal border crossings from Belarus

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Wednesday marked yet another day of no recorded attempts to cross into Lithuania from Belarus illegally, the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) said on Thursday morning.

 

Latvia did not report any attempts at illegal border crossings on Wednesday either. Some 177 irregular migrants were not allowed into Poland on Tuesday, according to the latest available information.

 

A total of 217 irregular migrants have been barred from entering Lithuania from Belarus at non-designated places so far this year.

 

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.

 

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.

 

 

 

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Lithuanian formin to discuss Washington summit with NATO counterparts in Prague

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Lithuania's top diplomat Gabrielius Landsbergis is taking part in an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague on Thursday and Friday.

 

The meeting will focus on preparations for NATO's summit in Washington, D.C. on July 9-11, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry has said.

 

Ministers will also discuss the Alliance's long-term practical and political support to Kyiv and Ukraine's path towards NATO membership.

 

At their summit in Vilnius last July, NATO leaders pledged to invite Ukraine to join the Alliance "when Allies agree and conditions are met".

 

Kyiv previously hoped to receive an invitation to join NATO during the Washington summit, but diplomats say such a decision is almost impossible.

 

A separate Nordic-Baltic ministerial meeting is scheduled in Prague. 

 

 

 

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Proposal to extend bank solidarity levy to be presented to Lithuanian parliament

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – The Lithuanian government's initiative to extend the so-called bank solidarity levy, introduced last year, for another year as an additional source of defense funding is to be presented to the parliament on Thursday.

 

The government will ask the parliament to debate the respective amendments to the Law on Temporary Solidarity Contribution under a fast-track procedure.

 

The levy is expected to raise around 60 million euros in 2025, which Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said on Wednesday could be used to make an advance payment for another medium-range air defense system.  

 

Eivile Cipkute, president of the Association of Lithuanian Banks, which opposes the tax extension, says that banks in Lithuania are already taxed twice as much as other businesses. 

 

The amendments propose that the levy for 2025, just as it is for 2024, should be calculated on the basis of 2019-2022 net interest income. 

 

The levy would continue to be charged on the part of net interest income that exceeds the average of the four years by more than 50 percent.

 

Banks with annual profits of more than 2 million euros currently pay a 20 percent corporate income tax, 5 percentage points higher than other businesses. If approved by the government and the parliament, both rates will increase by 1 point next year, but the revenue will not reach the budget until 2026.  

 

Banks paid more than 250 million euros in solidarity levy for 2023 and may pay around 220 million euros for 2024, according to figures from the central bank.

 

Banks operating in Lithuania doubled their combined net profits in 2023 year-on-year to 986 million euros after the solidarity levy.

 

 

 

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

 

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Lithuanian president's NATO procurement veto to be presented to parliament

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – A law aimed at clarifying the criteria for issuing declarations of assurance for participation in NATO procurement is to be presented to the Lithuanian parliament for reconsideration on Thursday after it was vetoed by President Gitanas Nauseda.

 

The amendments to the framework law on the issuance of declarations of assurance to legal entities to participate in NATO tenders were adopted by the parliament a couple of weeks ago.

 

However, Nauseda refused to sign them into law, saying that they limit the possibility of banning entities that have violated international sanctions from bidding for NATO contracts.   

 

The president noted that the declaration of assurance is an important document that confirms the financial, technical, professional, and security reliability of a legal entity seeking to participate in NATO tenders.

 

However, the amendments "essentially narrow the grounds on which a declaration of assurance can be withheld from entities that have violated international sanctions", the president's office has said in a press release.

 

Nauseda suggests amending the law to include a condition that a declaration of assurance is issued only if the legal entity seeking to participate in NATO tenders or persons related to it have not been found in violation of international sanctions or restrictive measures in the last three years.

 

The president has said that allowing businesses punished for sanctions violations to bid for NATO contracts could pose a real threat to national security, and therefore the issuance of declarations of assurance cannot be a mere formality. 

 

 

 

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EU ministers to decide on increased tariffs on Russian, Belarusian grain

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Simonas Saunas and his EU counterparts are expected to approve increased import tariffs on Russian and Belarusian grain in Brussels on Thursday.

 

The EU's Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) is to decide on the European Commission's proposal, unveiled in March, to impose increased import tariffs on cereals, oilseeds and grain products, including wheat, maize, sunflower meal, peas and chickpeas.  

 

Many of these imports from Russia are now exempt from any EU import duties. 

 

The Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) approved the proposal last week. Lithuania and six other member states called on the Commission to prepare a new proposal to increase tariffs on other Russian and Belarusian products. 

 

If endorsed by the European Council, the increased tariffs will come into force on July 1. 

 

European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said in March that the tariffs "will de facto prevent imports of Russian and Belorussian products into the EU market, because it will be commercially not viable".

 

Lithuania, along with Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic, back in March urged the EU's executive body to look into the possibility of restricting the import of food products originating in Russia and Belarus into the bloc.

 

The Foreign Affairs Council is also expected to discuss the EU's trade policy and competitiveness, strengthening the bloc's trade links with Africa, reducing Africa's trade dependence on China and Russia, and the follow-up to the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in February. 

 

 

 

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

 

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Alcohol, tobacco consumption down in Lithuania

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS - One Lithuanian resident aged 15 and over consumed 11 liters of pure (100 percent) alcohol last year, 0.2 liters less than in 2022, according to preliminary data published by the country's State Data Agency.

 

The country's retail and catering companies sold a total of 3.1 million decaliters of vodka, whisky, brandy and other spirits, 0.8 percent less than in 2022, and 4.2 million decaliters of wine and fermented beverages, 4.2 percent less.

 

As in the previous year, beer was the most sold product, with 20.8 million decaliters sold, or 6 percent less.

 

The January 2023 excise duty increase on alcoholic beverages resulted in a 10.6 percent annual increase in prices. 

 

Meanwhile, the average number of legal cigarettes smoked per person aged 15 and over stood at 1,223, a drop of 2.2 percent from 2022. Tobacco prices rose by 6.3 percent, driven by a higher excise duty.

 

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Natural gas prices for Lithuanian households to remain unchanged in H1

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Natural gas prices for Lithuanian households for the second half of 2024 will remain unchanged from those in April through June. 

 

The unchanged tariffs for Ignitis' consumers for the second half were confirmed by the National Energy Regulatory Council (NERC) on Thursday. 

 

NERC Chairman Renatas Pocius has said recently that gas market prices are currently "more or less predictable and do not fluctuate significantly."

 

Dutch TTF natural gas futures for the third quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025 ranged from 34.6 to 40.2 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh) on Thursday morning.

 

Gas tariffs for Lithuanian consumers are usually set twice a year, from January and July, but this year, they were reduced in April.

 

 

 

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Kacinskas proposed for Lithuania's ambassador to Czech Republic

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS - Rolandas Kacinskas, an aide to Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen on foreign policy issues, has been proposed for the position of the country's ambassador to the Czech Republic.

 

According to a draft government resolution, he should take up his new post on August 20.

 

Kacinskas has served as Lithuanian ambassador to Greece, policy director at the Foreign Ministry and, and in other positions.

 

He would replace Laimonas Talat-Kelpsa who will leave his position on August 19.

 

Darius Jonas Semaska has also been proposed for ambassador to Switzerland, Jonas Grinevicius would represent Lithuania in Ireland and Darius Vitkauskas would work in Switzerland.

 

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

 

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Lithuanian defmin off to Singapore to attend security forum

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas is leaving for Singapore to attend the Shangri-la Dialogue 2024 security forum, the Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

 

The largest security forum in the Indo-Pacific region will bring together defense ministers from Asia, Europe, the Americas and other regions of the world to discuss security threats and challenges, the statement reads.

 

On the sidelines of the forum, Kasciunas is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with the defense ministers and their representatives from Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Singapore to discuss the regional security situation, the possibilities and development of bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and other topical issues.  

 

"We understand that security in the Indo-Pacific region can have a direct impact on security in the Euro-Atlantic area, so we need and are ready to talk with like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region to further develop cooperation in the field of security," Kasciunas said.

 

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Minsk-linked Lithuanian co to produce new passports for Belarusian opposition (media)

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS - Garsu Pasaulis, a Lithuanian company that used to have links with an oligarch close to the Minsk regime, will produce alternative passports designed by the Belarusian opposition, the Lithuanian 15min.lt news website reports on Thursday.

 

This company was proposed by a Belarusian who used to work for the interior system in Minsk. Mikita Zabuga, a Belarusian citizen who has asylum in Lithuania, suggested that the Belarusian opposition should work with Garsu Pasaulis, the news website writes.

 

Zabuga, one of the people behind the new Belarusian passport idea and a member of a culture society of Belarusian in Lithuania, used to work for in the interior system in Minsk, was offered ato wok for the Belarusian KGB, and owned shares in companies linked to the Astavyets nuclear power plant.

 

As previously reported by 15min, in 2011, the company that owned Garsu Pasaulis and Golograficheskaya Industriya, a hologram maker with a monopoly in Belarus, set up a joint company in Lithuania, GP Holographics, and t supplied Garsu Pasaulis with holographic film used in the production of third party documents.

 

Viktor Shevtsov, dubbed as Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenk's "wallet", is one of the shareholders of Golograficheskaya Industriya.

 

Ana Janauskiene, head of Garsu Pasaulis, told 15min that all ties with GP Holographics were severed in 2022 after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

 

15min found that, Garsu Pasaulis sold its shares in GP Holographics to Shevtsov via an intermediary. Nevertheless, Garsu Pasaulis and GP Holographics still share the same address in Vilnius and the same administrator and accountant.

 

Shevtsov now owns 70 percent of GP Holographics. Another 10 percent belong to Golograficheskaya Industriya and its CEO Alexander Babarenko has a 15 percent stake.

 

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Lithuania to set up special agency for migrant reception, accommodation

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Lithuania is set to establish a new agency to handle the reception and accommodation of migrants. 

 

The parliament on Thursday passed the respective amendments to the Law on the Legal Status of Aliens with 96 votes in favor, one against, and nine abstentions. 

 

The new agency will provide social, accommodation, and other essential services to asylum seekers, foreign nationals granted asylum in Lithuania, and irregular migrants pending their expulsion.

 

The new agency will be subordinate to the Social Security and Labor Ministry and will include the Refugee Reception Center currently located in Rukla, in the central district of Jonava, and the Naujininkai refugee reception camp in Vilnius.

 

According to Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite, the new arrangement will relieve border guards of the responsibility for migrants' living conditions.

 

The agency will serve as a one-stop shop for legal, social, health, and other essential services to migrants.

 

"It is very important that with the new institution and a team of qualified specialists, we will be able to ensure humane reception conditions and human rights for foreigners," Bilotaite said.

 

The influx of irregular migrants to Lithuania, Latvia and Poland 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. Camps had to be set up and heated facilities found to accommodate them.

 

The vast majority of the migrants left Lithuania once they were allowed to move freely.

 

 

 

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Lithuanian agrimin calls on EU to ban imports of all Russian agricultural products

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – The EU must ban all agricultural products from Russia and Belarus, Lithuanian Agriculture Minister Kestutis Navickas says after Brussels finally decided to impose higher import duties on Russian and Belarusian grain.

 

"Russian and Belarusian products compete unfairly with the products produced by EU farmers. But more importantly, by selling food products on the EU market, Russia is making billions to finance its war in Ukraine," Navickas said in a statement on Thursday.

 

Russia and Belarus have so far been profiting from more than just grain sales on the EU market, he said, as the EU imported 2.7 billion euro worth of agricultural and food products from Russia in 2023, 2 percent more than in 2021. Grain accounts for around half of this amount.

 

Navickas has previously said that Brussels' import duties on Russian and Belarusian grain would effectively mean a ban on their import into the bloc. 

 

EU ministers agreed on Thursday to impose maximum duties on imports of grain from Russia from July 1, which has so far been largely exempt from tariffs. 

 

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Lithuanian MPs to debate both government, opposition proposals on bank solidarity levy  (updates)

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – The Lithuanian parliament on Thursday agreed to debate bank solidarity levy proposals from both the government and the opposition, meaning that MPs will have to decide whether the tax will be collected for one more year or made permanent.

 

Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste says the exceptional situation in the banking market will likely continue for at least another year.

 

"We believe that the peak in bank interest rates has now been reached. The European Central Bank is likely to start cutting interest rates in June," the minister told the parliament while presenting the amendments tabled by the government. 

 

"This means that we can expect interest rates to stabilize in the second half of next year. This means that banks' profits from net interest income will fall," she added. 

 

MP Lukas Savickas of the opposition Democrats "For Lithuania" says that the levy calculation formula inherently implies its temporary nature, because it is applicable only under exceptional conditions linked to temporary profits from exceptionally high interest rates.

 

"Let's pass this bill and always have a tool ready to catch those temporary profit situations that fall out of the sky for banks, which would allow us to apply this tax without debate," he said while presenting amendments initiated by a group of opposition MPs.  

 

Another proposal, tabled by the opposition political group of non-attached MPs, to extend the solidarity levy for another year, until the end of 2025, also passed the first reading in the Seimas.

 

The parliament is expected to further discuss the bills on June 18. 

 

 

 

 

 

Editor: Roma Pakėnienė

 

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Four suspected in Lithuania's probe into Viciunai Group's exports to Russia  (media)

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS – Lithuania's law enforcement authorities investigating the possible export of sanctioned goods to Russia by a company of Viciunai Group, co-owned by Kaunas Mayor Visvaldas Matijosaitis, have identified four individuals suspected of violating sanctions, according to the public broadcaster LRT's investigative journalism team. 

 

"Four natural persons have been served with notices of suspicion in the investigation of a possible violation of international sanctions by transporting sanctioned products to Russia," the Prosecutor General's Office informed the LRT Investigation Team in writing on Thursday. 

 

"The investigation is ongoing and all necessary pre-trial investigative actions are being performed," it added.

 

According to LRT, the prosecutors did not disclose whether the suspects include Viciunai Group' shareholders or senior executives, citing as the reason the need to ensure "a balance between the right to private life and other rights" of the individuals involved in the investigation. 

 

The pre-trial investigation was launched on April 11 amid suspicions that Viciunai Group's company Plunges Kooperatine Prekyba had shipped sanctioned goods to Russia.

 

The LRT Investigation Team reported in early April that Plunges Kooperatine Prekyba had shipped dual-use goods to Russia at least 11 times since the start of the war in Ukraine, and five times after the specific codes for these goods were added to the EU sanctions lists.

 

The company's shipments reportedly included goods on the list of high-priority battlefield items needed for arms production, such as bearings used by Russia to manufacture tanks, as well as other dual-use items.

 

The recipient of all the goods was Viciunai-Rus, the group's factory in Sovetsk, a town in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. 

 

Matijosaitis and his business partner Liudas Skierus each hold 50 percent of shares in VG Holding, the owner of Viciunai Group. 

 

 

 

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BaltCap's lawsuit against Interactive Brokers to be heard in Lithuania behind closed doors

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS - Interactive Brokers Central Europe, a Hungarian-based US securities trading platform, has failed in its bid to get the lawsuit filed by investment fund BaltCap's companies trying to recover millions of euros embezzled by Sarunas Stepukonis, a former partner at the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund, heard in Hungary instead of Lithuania. The case will also be heard behind closed doors.

 

Judge Vaclovas Paulikas of Vilnius Regional Court ruled on Wednesday that Lithuanian courts have jurisdiction over the case and rejected Interactive Brokers Central Europe's request to keep the lawsuit pending, Lina Nemeikaite, spokeswoman for the court, told BNS. 

 

The ruling can be appealed to the Court of Appeal within seven days. 

 

The first closed-door court hearing is scheduled for August 28.

 

Lithuania's Zvirgzdaiciu Energija and Nullus, as well as Polands En Efficiency, filed a lawsuit in February, seeking 5.485 million eurosin damages from Stepukonis and Interactive Brokers. In February, a court temporarily seized Stepukonis' assets worth this amount and banned him from accessing his accounts.

 

In April, Vilnius Regional Court once again ruled that another lawsuit brought by the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund companies for the return of tens of millions of euros gambled away by Stepukonis must be heard in Lithuania. The lawsuit was filed Lithuanian gambling company Olympic Casino and its Estonian shareholder OB Holding 1 for the return of financial assets worth a total of 26 million euros plus damages.

 

This case will also be heard in Lithuania and not in Estonia as OB Holding 1 had requested.

 

Stepukonis is suspected of embezzling at least 27 million euros from the BaltCap Infrastructure Fund companies, but according to prosecutors, this amount could be higher. BaltCap representatives estimate that around 40 million euros may have disappeared from the fund's companies.

 

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Stasys Eidrigevicius' Stasys Museum opens in Lithuania's Panevezys

 

VILNIUS, May 30, BNS - Stasys Museum, an art center dedicated to painter, graphic artist, writer, book illustrator, author of performances Stasys Eidrigevicius has opened in Lithuania's northern city of Panevezys.

 

According to a statement issued after the opening on Thursday, the museum will exhibit the artist's extensive collection of works and international cooperation projects.

 

The museum will open its doors to the public on Friday.

 

The new museum is located on the site of a former movie theater. The building has four floors and one basement floor, which houses a lobby, art storage, various utility areas and a car park.

 

The 240 square meter modern art storage facility with a humidity- and temperature-control system currently houses approximately 1,200 works of art donated to the museum by Eidrigevicius.

 

On the ground floor of the museum, there will be an information center, a café, a shop and a ticket office.

 

The second floor has a transformable space that can be adapted for various events and conferences, if needed. There is a separate space for educational activities. The third floor is dedicated to a permanent exhibition of Eidrigevicius works. And the fourth floor exhibition hall will host changing exhibitions.

 

Starting Friday, visitors will be able to see the museum's first exhibition ICON-O-STASYS. The exhibition will be changed several times a year and will include paintings, photography, bookplates, posters and sculptures. 

 

Eidrigevicius has held more than 100 international exhibitions and won more than 40 international awards during his lifetime.

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