LRT English Newsletter – August 26, 2022
The Baltic states are leading the charge to have the EU stop issuing tourist visas to all Russians. An effective measure to ramp up pressure on Moscow or just a venting mechanism and collective punishment? Lithuanian leaders say it is unfathomable that Russians should vacation in Europe while their government is waging a criminal war. The president has quipped that the Russian people support the war and “all of Russia” should be made to feel its effects.
However, not all EU members are onboard. European leaders are to discuss the measure next week, but if there’s no agreement, Lithuania would opt for a “regional solution”, according to the foreign minister. This should entail EU countries along Russia’s border banning Russian travellers – and with no direct flights between Russia and the EU, seriously limiting their possibilities to reach even Western Europe.
INDUSTRY CRACKING
Soaring energy prices are beginning to affect industrial production – Lithuania’s biggest fertiliser manufacturer Achema has announced it is stopping its plant for at least three months, firing at least 5 percent of its workforce and furloughing the rest.
With natural gas accounting to 70 percent of its costs, Achema says current prices make its production uncompetitive. More businesses may follow suit, unless energy price inflation is reined in, an industry representative has warned.
KEEPING HOUSEHOLDS AFLOAT
Soaring prices also threaten households with a cost-of-living crisis. The prime minister estimates that the government will have to spend up to a billion euros on energy subsidies alone – and keeping energy costs down will be a key task for next year’s fiscal policy.
There’s also pressure to raise the minimum wage. While annual inflation has hit 20 percent, the economy minister has suggested raising the monthly minimum by 70 euros. It would only mean a 10-percent hike, although the minister insists that the government should also cut income taxes so as to share the burden with employers.
BIG SHIP
Last weekend, a big American warship docked in the port of Klaipėda, the biggest one to ever visit Lithuania. The USS Kearsarge is the flagship of the 22nd US Marine Expeditionary Unit, measures over 250 metres in length and manned by a crew of over 2,000. Take a look at the photos from the welcoming ceremony here.
NO MORE AIR BALLOONS?
Taking a hot air balloon ride has long been a must for locals and tourists visiting Vilnius – but this may come to an end. New navigation rules, set to come into force in autumn, would severely restrict how many balloons can be in the air at one time and where they can fly. This might kill the industry, balloon pilots warn.
THIN UNDERARMED LINE
Lithuania has stepped up protections along its land and sea border with Russia, the interior minister said this week, not ruling out potential aggression. Meanwhile, border guards’ unions complain they are insufficiently armed – if they had to defend against an invasion, they’d have to do it with old Kalashnikovs and not nearly enough ammo. But should border guards be tasked with holding out against a hypothetical invasion? Lithuania’s chief of defence says no.
SIX MONTHS OF WAR
On August 24, Ukraine celebrated its Independence Day, which also coincided with the six-month mark since the Russian invasion.
Here is our attempt to take stock of this era-defining event that did – and continues to – shock us all.
SOME LIKE IT HOT, SOME DON’T
This August may prove to be one of the hottest on record in Lithuania, meteorologists say. We are also in the middle of the third heatwave this summer. Dearth of rainfall has also increased the concentration of hard particles in the air to unhealthy levels.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– Lithuania produces three times less electricity than it consumes. One of Europe’s largest electricity generation deficits exacerbates the already soaring electricity prices, experts say.
– Most of the Afghans who fled potential persecution by the Taliban after it took power in Kabul and were brought to Lithuania a year ago remain in the country and continue their integration.
– Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are no longer part of China’s 16+1 Central and Eastern Europe cooperation group. Lithuania is also edging closer to Taiwan as tensions with China escalate.
– Žemaitė was an exceptional personality – a seminal writer, a fighter for women’s rights, and a bright spark in Lithuania's national awakening. From marrying a serf to comparing imprisonment to drinking a glass of vodka – what do we know about Julija Beniuševičiūtė-Žymantienė (Žemaitė)?
– Born after the death of her grandfather, the famous writer Antanas Škėma, Corinna Škėma-Snyder was only able to get to know him through the stories told by her mother and others, and through his own work. “To be his granddaughter in the USA meant nothing,” she admits. Unlike in Lithuania, where Škėma is considered one of the great writers of the mid-20th century.
– An overwhelming majority of people in Lithuania think life is getting worse, according to a new Baltijos Tyrimai poll. The last time the figures were so low was in 2009 during the height of the financial crisis.
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