The mayor of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas, has launched a signature campaign for legislation that would oblige foreigners living temporarily in the country to learn Lithuanian, BNS reports. Under the mayor’s proposal, non-EU nationals would have to show proof of at least A2-level proficiency in Lithuanian when renewing their temporary residence permits after…
Over 10,000 people in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, protested outside the parliament, the Seimas, on 8 April 2026 against proposed changes to legislation governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), BNS reported. The demonstration was organised by the Association of Professional Journalists (ZPA). Nevertheless, Seimas speaker Juozas Olekas insisted that the…
Every tenth resident of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, is a foreign national, according to the city’s mayor, Valdas Benkunskas, ELTA reports. Vilnius has altogether around 76,000 foreign residents, of whom 61,000 (80%) are non-EU citizens, BNS reported. Around 40,000 of the foreigners, mostly from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, have temporary residence permits. The mayor warned…
Lithuania’s three international airports will offer flights to 100 destinations in 54 countries in summer 2026, state-owned airport operator Lietuvos Oro Uostai (LTOU) announced, The Baltic Times reports. LTOU’s airports will have more flights to Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Helsinki, and Warsaw. Vilnius International Airport will offer new direct routes to Gdansk in Poland and Podgorica in…
Lithuania has proposed an action plan to attract more investments from Taiwan, the Foreign Ministry announced, BNS reports. The plan, which remains a “working draft,” outlines priority sectors and potential projects with a focus on developing Lithuania’s high-tech sector, the ministry said. Asta Skaisgiryte, foreign policy adviser to President Gitanas Nauseda, said that Lithuania could…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene called for renaming the Taiwanese Representative Office in Vilnius to “Taipei Representative Office” instead, BNS reports. She argued that the decision to open the Taiwanese representation under its current name was a “hasty step,” suggesting that the mistake be corrected. However, such a move would not be a quick decision…
China remains open to dialogue with Lithuania, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian stated, Reuters reported. China hopes that Lithuania will “translate its willingness to improve bilateral relations into concrete action and promptly rectify its error,” he said. Earlier, Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene stated that the previous government had made a “major mistake” in…
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene criticised the previous government’s decision to allow Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in Vilnius, BNS reports. She said that Lithuania “jumped in front of the train and lost” when it allowed Taiwan to open the representative office without coordinating the move with the EU and the US. Ruginiene…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, intends to increase its presence in neighbouring Lithuania, according to the company’s new CEO, Erno Hildén, BNS reports. He said that the airline had plans for new destinations and more frequent flights, particularly to and from Vilnius. While acknowledging that airBaltic was facing significant financial challenges, Hildén vowed that his…
