Lithuania: Lithuanian, Polish presidents to deepen defence ties

The presidents of Lithuania and Poland, Gitanas Nauseda and Andrzej Duda, have signed a declaration on deepening bilateral defence and security ties, Baltic News Network reports. The presidents made the declaration during Nauseda’s official visit to Poland. At the same time, Lithuanian and Polish officials signed cooperation agreements on cyber security and defence industry, TVP…

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Baltic: Estonia, Lithuania global leaders in wooden house exports

Estonia was the world’s largest exporter of prefabricated wooden houses in 2023, ELTA reports, citing Lithuanian business news portal Verslo Zinios. Estonia had a global market share of 21.5%, followed by Lithuania with 9.3% and Poland with 8%. Estonia’s exports of wooden buildings totalled EUR 390mn in 2023. Lithuania came in second with EUR 164mn, which…

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Lithuania: LVZS, LSDP may form two-party coalition government

Lithuania’s opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS) and Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) could form a two-party coalition government after the parliamentary elections in October 2024, LVZS chairman Ramunas Karbauskis stated, ELTA reports. Speaking in an interview with Ziniu Radijas, Karbauskis said that the two parties could have a stable majority in parliament. However,…

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Lithuania: MEP Tomaszewski takes “hate speech” case to ECHR

Lithuanian MEP Waldemar Tomaszewski has taken legal action at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against Lithuanian authorities for discontinuing an investigation into derogatory comments made by TV presenter Arunas Valinskas, ELTA reports. Valinskas had called Tomaszewski, who leads the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (LLRA), a “Colorado potato beetle” and suggested that…

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Lithuania: Foreign experts awarded Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, has awarded German foreign and security policy experts Jessica Berlin and Benjamin Tallis as well as Finnish anti-disinformation expert Pekka Kallioniemi with the Order of the Star of Lithuanian Diplomacy, ELTA reports. Berlin is founder of the strategic consulting company, CoStruct, while Tallis is analyst at the German Council on…

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Lithuania: Bolt separates taxi drivers by language proficiency

Estonian ride-hailing service provider Bolt will separate its taxi drivers in Lithuania by language proficiency, ELTA reports. Bolt spokesman Mantas Cizas siad that the company would apply stricter standards to communication and behaviour in the “Bolt” category, requiring that drivers speak fluent Lithuanian or English. Those who fail to do so can continue in the…

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Lithuania: 84 prosecutors have resigned since 2019: Prosecutor General

Altogether 84 prosecutors in Lithuania have resigned since 2019 and 55 since 2021, Prosecutor General Nida Grunskiene revealed, ELTA reports. She said that prosecutors with extensive work experience had resigned as well, and that the average age of prosecutors was going up. Meanwhile, only 18 new prosecutors have been hired, she noted. Grunskiene said that…

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Lithuania: War, economy, cyber attacks main risks for financial system

The three biggest risks to Lithuania’s financial system are the consequences of the war in Ukraine, the state of the economy, and cyber attacks, according to the Bank of Lithuania’s survey, ELTA reports. The risk of cyber attacks has increased significantly, the central bank noted. Dovydas Poderys, senior economist at the Bank of Lithuania, said…

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