LRT English Newsletter – April 18, 2025.
A long-awaited ruling was handed down by the Constitutional Court on Thursday – it’s unconstitutional to stop same-sex couples from registering a civil union.
In its ruling, the Constitutional Court said that people will now be able to turn to courts to register a civil partnership and basically called on the parliament to pass the appropriate laws – something which successive parliaments have tried and failed to do for the past two decades.
RUSSIAN SANCTIONS, RUSSIAN SPIES
Russian nationals will lose their visas and residence permits if they go home more than once every three months. However, the parliament stopped short of adopting the same measure to the Belarusians, much to the protest of the opposition conservatives. The move followed earlier warnings by the Lithuanian intelligence that Russia and Belarus use these return trips as a chance to recruit spies.
In related news, an investigative project found that a staff member of the Russian embassy in Vilnius is also an officer at the FSB, the successor to the Soviet-era KGB. He flagged up when he got into an altercation with a Belarusian blogger.
AUDITING THE LRT
The president has appointed his adviser as the head of the National Audit Office, which has now been tasked with carrying out a political audit of the LRT. Meanwhile, an internal audit at LRT found no major shortcomings. Subsequently, the auditor resigned. The public broadcaster, as well as the country’s media unions, have raised alarm over what they see as repeated attempts to control LRT.
TAX OVERHAULS
Here are the details of some of the proposed tax overhauls:
– Atax would apply to property valued at more than €40,000 per individual.
– The government has proposed four progressive personal income tax brackets, aiming to make the system more equitable.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– Lithuania aspires to restore diplomatic ties with China, officials said.
– Lithuania barred entry to around ten Central Asian migrants over terrorism fears. Meanwhile, the prime minister said the country should overhaul its migration policies.
– Young women in Lithuania’s rural areas are often forced to skip school due to the unavailability of female hygiene products in their local shops.
– Did we learn anything from the Covid pandemic?
– Vilnius University apologised for what many saw as a strange ad for Russian studies.
– The ticks are back.
– What’s known as the 40-year ‘soap opera’ in Vilnius? That’s right – the National Stadium.
– Another day, another bear.
– Vilnius has a new “Egg”.
– Take a look at some pretty Japanese trees.
– Or Vilnius from a glass-floor viewing gallery.
– Or some Northern Lights.
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