Lithuania is moving towards universal military conscription, Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas stated, BNS reported. The number of conscripts was increasing each year, Kaunas noted. However, the Lithuanian Armed Forces (LGP) needed more infrastructure, instructors, military capacity, and weaponry before the introduction of universal conscription, he added. Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene asserted that universal conscription remained…
Renewed calls for engagement with Russia do not reflect Europe’s security needs, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda stated, BNS reports. Speaking at the opening of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s spring session in the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Nauseda insisted that Russia has to be “contained, not courted.” He reminded that the future of European security was…
Latvians and Lithuanians work longer hours than Estonians, according to Eurostat data, LSM reports. The average working hours for employed persons in both Latvia and Lithuania stood at 38.3 hours per week in 2024, compared to just 36.5 hours in Estonia. The EU average was 36.0 hours. For employees, average working hours were 38.6 hours…
Lithuania has joined France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain in urging the EU to take tougher measures against abusive trade practices by China and other countries, Politico reports. The non-paper noted that some of the EU’s main trading partners were imposing new trade barriers and contributing to industrial overcapacity. The document proposed quicker and easier…
The Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP) will decide in early June 2026 whether to continue in the current ruling coalition, the party’s chairman, Mindaugas Sinkevicius, announced, BNS reported. Besides LSDP, the coalition includes the far-right populist Dawn of Nemunas (PPNA), the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS), and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania…
Baltic transport ministers have discussed Lithuania’s proposal to stop seasonal time changes, LSM reports. Latvia’s outgoing Transport Minister, Atis Svinka, said that the Baltic ministers conceptually supported a transition to permanent summer time. He stressed that the Baltic States needed to have a unified position on the question, pointing to the example of the Estonian-Latvian…
Hostile states were probably responsible for a massive data leak at Lithuania’s Centre of Registers (VIRC), President Gitanas Nauseda announced, BNS reported. He said that the theft of over 600,000 records from VIRC’s real estate register was a matter of national security. Nauseda slammed the government for not disclosing the data breach until one or…
Recent drone incidents in the Baltic States are part of Russia’s strategy to destabilise democratic societies in the region, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with Baltic presidents in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, von der Leyen stressed the need for EU unity in support of the three…
Lithuania’s State Defence Council (VGT) has approved a decision to buy 936 armoured vehicles from the Finnish defence group, Patria, BNS reports. President Gitanas Nauseda said that Lithuania expected that 300 of the vehicles would be delivered by 2030. He added that part of the production process would take place in Lithuania. A Patria representative…