Lithuania: Homeland Union branches nominate candidates for president

Regional branches of Lithuania’s ruling Homeland Union (TS-LKD) have proposed their preferred candidates for president in the upcoming elections in May 2024, BNS reports. Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte was the favourite with 66 nominations, followed by Foreign Minister and TS-LKD chairman Gabrielius Landsbergis with 64 and Labour and Social Security Minister Monika Navickiene with 62….

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Lithuania: President Nauseda expected to run for second term

Lithuania’s presidential campaign is gathering pace, Linas Jegelevicius reports for Baltic News Network. Incumbent president Gitanas Nauseda has the lead in several polls, and he is expected to run for a second term. The ruling Homeland Union has started the process to choose the party’s presidential candidate. Potential names include Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Defence…

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Lithuania: Ruling parties to impeach MP for antisemitic remarks

Lithuania’s ruling coalition parties have collected signatures for the impeachment of unaffiliated MP Remigijus Zemaitaitis for his repeated antisemitic statements, BNS reports. The motion to impeach was signed by 36 MPs. Earlier, Zemaitaitis blamed Jews for the deportations and killings of Lithuanians during the Second World War. Also, he expressed anger at Prime Minister Ingrida…

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Lithuania: EU Commissioner urges speedier execution of tax reform

Lithuania risks losing millions of euros in EU funds if key reforms, including a tax reform, are not implemented, European Commission (EC) Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis warned, LRT reports. Dombrovskis will discuss the progress of the tax reform package with Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte and Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste in Vilnius on 7-8 September 2023. Dombrovskis…

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Lithuania: No more closures of checkpoints on Belarus border: PM

The Lithuanian government does not plan to close more checkpoints on the border with Belarus in the near future, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte announced, LRT reports. However, she said that the possibility to do so remained, given that security threats persisted. A complete closure of the Belarus border would only be done in coordination with…

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Lithuania: PM Simonyte, Pres. Nauseda most influential politicians

Lithuanian experts regard Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, President Gitanas Nauseda, and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis as the country’s most influential politicians in 2023, according to Reitingai magazine’s poll for DELFI, BNS reports. Reitingai interviewed 999 public figures in May-June 2023 for the survey. A separate Spinter Tyrimai poll showed that the public regards Nauseda as…

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Baltic: Baltic States join G7 Declaration of Support for Ukraine

The three Baltic States have joined the G7’s Declaration of Support for Ukraine, ERR reports. The declaration aims to provide Ukraine with sustained political, military, financial, and economic assistance through bilateral agreements. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, and Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte expressed their “unwavering support” for Ukraine until…

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Lithuania: PM Simonyte voices confidence in Defence Minister

Lithuania’s Prime Minister, Ingrida Simonyte, expressed confidence in Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, BNS reports. Earlier, Anusauskas was criticised by President Gitanas Nauseda and other politicians for allegedly disclosing restricted information about the purchase of tanks for the Lithuanian Armed Forces. Simonyte insisted that Anusauskas had not disclosed classified information but conceded that the minister should…

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Lithuania: Preparedness for threats adequate: PM Simonyte

Lithuania’s preparedness for possible threats is adequate for the current situation, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte stated, LRT reports. She was commenting reports that Russian private military company Wagner Group’s mercenaries had arrived in neighbouring Belarus. Simonyte said that Lithuanian intelligence agencies were monitoring the situation in Belarus and exchanging information with allied partners. Defence Minister…

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