Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry has proposed expanding national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens, BNS reports. Under the proposed draft legislation, Russian and Belarusian individuals and organisations would be barred from public cultural or sports events in Lithuania if they have operated in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, directly or indirectly support the war against Ukraine, or…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has proposed stricter rules on migration, BNS reports. Under the proposal, labour migrants would be required to leave Lithuania for at least six months after every two years of work. Also, the labour migrant quota would include not only new migrants but also those already in Lithuania. Skirmantas Bikelis, senior research…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments banning the import of certain industrial goods from Russia and Belarus, LETA reports. The amendments ban the import of books, newspapers, video games, sporting goods, toys, clothing, and footwear either directly or indirectly from Russia and Belarus. Transit shipments of such goods to other countries will not…
A majority of members of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, have signed a letter of protest against China’s new “law on ethnic unity,” BNS reported. In the letter sent to the Chinese embassy in Tallinn, the MPs noted that the law was aimed at assimilating ethnic minorities living in China, including Mongols, Tibetans, and Uyghurs….
Lithuania’s incoming new coalition government may try to resume official dialogue with neighbouring Belarus on reopening transport links and trade, The Baltic Sentinel reports. Political analyst Vytautas Bruveris noted that many rural voters of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) and the Lithuanian Union of Farmers and Greens (LVZS), especially in eastern Lithuania, were tired…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments blocking investors from Russia and Belarus from obtaining temporary residence permits in Latvia, LETA reports. The amendments close a legal loophole that allowed Russian and Belarusian investors to obtain residence permits through an investment programme for alternative investment fund managers. Meanwhile, a parliamentary commission recommended setting quotas…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has approved amendments extending a reduced excise tax rate on diesel fuel until the end of 2026, LSM reports. The diesel tax was lowered from EUR 467 to EUR 396 per 1,000 litres and for marked diesel fuel used in agriculture from EUR 70 to EUR 21 per 1,000 litres…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has signed into law amendments to legislation governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reports. The changes will create a new board of directors for LRT, expand the company’s governing council, and establish fixed terms for council members and increase their powers. Also, the amendments will…
Following the entry into force of the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, human rights groups in Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland urged their governments to review migrant pushback practices on the border with Belarus, BNS reported. In a joint statement, Latvia’s I Want to Help Refugees (GPB), Lithuania’s Sienos Grupe, and Poland’s Association for…
