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: Former health minister Aurelijus Veryga to run for president

Lithuania’s opposition Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVZS) has nominated MP Aurelijus Veryga as the party’s candidate for president, BNS reports. Veryga served as adviser to Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius in 2009-2012 and as health minister in 2016-2020, including during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Veryga joined LVZS in 2018. Lithuania will hold presidential…

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Lithuania: President urges harsher penalties for crimes against state

Lithuania’s President, Gitanas Nauseda, will propose stricter penalties for crimes against the state, BNS reports. The proposed amendments would introduce life sentences for organising or taking part in a coup. Currently, the maximum penalty for such an offense is 20 years in prison. Also, the president’s proposed legislation would introduce longer prison terms for being…

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Baltic: Latvian president urges coordinated action on power grid synchronisation

Coordinated action by the Baltic States was essential to synchronise their power grids with the continental European system, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Rinkevics discussed the synchronisation project with Climate and Energy Minister Raimonds Cudars. Earlier, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged Rinkevics to speed up the synchronisation project, LETA reported. Speaking after a…

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Latvia: Pres. Rinkevics to pay official visit to Lithuania

Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, will pay an official visit to Lithuania on 19 July 2023, BNS reports. Rinkevics will meet with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, and speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen. The officials will discuss the decisions taken at the NATO summit in Vilnius, regional and energy security, and…

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Latvia: Pres. Rinkevics urges banks to be more active in lending

Latvia’s President, Edgars Rinkevics, met with the governor of the Bank of Latvia, Martins Kazaks, to discuss issues related to the banking and financial sector, Baltic News Network reports. The officials noted that high lending costs weakened banks’ interest in providing lending services. Rinkevics called for a “radical change of direction” from Latvian commercial banks,…

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