The main events of the last week in Lithuania were the rapid action of the Seimas legislators to make the country unattractive to border violators, who in July started to enter the country in large numbers from Belarus. Vilnius has also refused to extradite Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovska to Minsk, while Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has discussed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Border guards are asking for more support from EU colleagues Frontex
At the request of the Lithuanian Border Guard, the EU Border and Coast Guard Service Frontex on Monday, July 12, announced that it had called on member states to send 60 patrol units to strengthen the security of the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. Initially Frontext called for 30 border guards to be sent to Lithuania. It is planned to instruct the necessary patrol units to guard the border with a physical presence and observe the situation along it. Lithuanian border guards have also asked to send 30 official vehicles, two helicopters and a vehicle with thermal visor equipment.
Lithuania rejects the request to extradite Tihanovska
Lithuania has refused to extradite Belarusian Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovska to Belarus, prosecutors said last week. The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office explained that the extradition request had been rejected on the basis of the provisions of the national bilateral legal aid agreement, without specifying the specific provisions. Law enforcement officials loyal to Alexander Lukashenko, who ruled Belarus in March, said they had begun extradition proceedings against Tikhanovsky after receiving information about mass unrest allegedly organized by her close associates.
President Merkel: The EU must step up security at its external borders
Last week, a telephone conversation took place between Lithuanian President Gitan Nauseda and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. During the meeting, Nauseda emphasized that the EU must strengthen the protection of the bloc’s external borders. The two leaders discussed the growing migration crisis on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border. Since the beginning of the year, 1,716 border violators have been detained on the Lithuanian side of the border, according to the latest official data.
National Association receives a letter of thanks from the Prime Minister of Hungary
Lithuanian non-parliamentary party National Association announced on Tuesday, 15 July that its leader, Vytautas Radžvilas, had received a letter of thanks from the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, expressing his gratitude for the support he had expressed. National Association. In June, the Lithuanian party sent a letter to the long-term head of the Hungarian government expressing support for legislation passed by the Hungarian parliament restricting the flow of information on sexual minorities in the country.
Lithuanian banks are stepping up checks on neighboring countries’ payments
The Lithuanian Banking Association said on Thursday, July 15, that Lithuanian credit companies will continue to carry out more thorough checks on international payments related to restrictions against the Belarusian industries. This will apply the EU’s decision to impose targeted restrictive measures against Belarus, the Lithuanian Banking Association. Eivilė Cipkutė, Chair of the organization, pointed out that banks would have to step up their payment verification process, which would take longer to process.
Lawmakers call the increase in border violations hybrid aggression
Last Tuesday, the Lithuanian Seimas passed a resolution calling the recent influx of border violations from Belarus a hybrid aggression. The document states that the organized flow of illegal migration from third countries is aimed at destabilizing the situation in Lithuania. The resolution was supported by 56 legislators out of a total of 141 deputies, but two voted against.
The Seimas approves the detention of border violators
On Tuesday, July 13, the Lithuanian parliament allowed the detention of persons who had illegally violated the state border and detained them for a maximum of six months. It provides for amendments In the Law on the Legal Status of Aliensprepared by the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior as a result of the migration crisis. The amendment was supported by 84 members of the Seimas.
Calls on the Ministry to make efforts to promote vaccination
Lithuanian President Gitan Nauseda announced on Wednesday, July 14, that he missed the efforts of the Lithuanian Ministry of Health’s leadership to promote Covid-19 vaccination. The Head of State emphasized that Lithuania currently has enough vaccine doses to achieve the set goal – 70% of the vaccinated adult population. By Wednesday, 46% of the population had received at least one dose of the vaccine, but the pace of vaccination has recently slowed in the country. Lithuania has so far received 3,203,455 doses of Covid-19 vaccines and has used 2,373,693 of them.
The artist accuses the priest of sexual exploitation.
Artist and public figure Denis Kolomyckij has said he accuses a Vilnius priest of the Catholic Church of sexually exploiting him 17 years ago. Following a complaint, the Vilnius Archdiocese began an examination and suspended the priest from office. At the end of the examination, all the information obtained is planned to be passed on to the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It will decide on further action, Lithuanian media reported last week.
Nauseda would not have signed the partnership law
Regarding the partnership law, which was rejected by a majority in the Lithuanian Seimas this year, President Nauseda commented that if the law had been passed, he would not have approved it as a law because, in his opinion, the bill defined marriage and partnership almost identically. The intention of the legislation was to introduce the registration of gender-neutral partnerships in the country. Recently, the President of Lithuania has been confronted by the ruling liberal politicians about his position on the rights of sexual minorities.
With taxes against car pollution
The Lithuanian Ministry of Environment has proposed changes to the existing car pollution tax regulations. Officials have proposed to increase the vehicle registration fee and introduce a new vehicle user tax, which should be paid once a year, said Lithuanian Minister of the Environment Gintarė Krušnienė last week. The registration tax would be applied to cars imported into Lithuania and registered in the country for the first time.
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