LRT English Newsletter – June 12, 2026.
This is it – the Nemunas Dawn party is out.
The Social Democrats decided last weekend to reshuffle the ruling coalition, saying working with their partners was no longer possible. Much of the blame fell on the firebrand leader of the party, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, who would not keep himself out of controversy – despite the Social Democrats allegedly hoping he would become more governable once he was in government.
The Germans also had their say, with the deputy foreign minister saying Berlin was happy that the “far-right populists” are out. Žemaitaitis called these comments interference in internal politics. Anyway.
The new coalition will most likely comprise Democrats “For Lithuania”, the Farmers and Greens, and the Social Democrats. Read an explainer here to get up to speed.
The biggest question remains who will be Lithuania’s next prime minister – the incumbent Inga Ruginienė, or not?
PM IN TROUBLE
And it’s not only coalition troubles that are (probably) keeping Ruginienė up at night. She was also found to have breached the law by taking her family on work trips to Italy and the Vatican, even though she plans to appeal the ruling. According to her spokesperson, this appears to have been standard practice in the past and is now being clarified.
CYBER ATTACKS AND ALGORITHMS
The personal details of several hundred doctors were leaked, the authorities announced on Wednesday. This came on the heels of the massive data breach at the Centre of Registers just several weeks ago. Although some experts disagree, the authorities say there is no sign – yet – that the two incidents, and potentially others, are part of a coordinated cyber attack.
And should algorithms decide how much you're getting paid? Lithuania is now eyeing changes to how gig workers are classified – and how their pay is set. Specifically, if a worker has no way of negotiating pay, then they are no longer an independent contractor. Read more here.
MIGRATION UPDATES
Seeking to curb exploitation, proposals have surfaced to impose a levy on employers hiring workers from abroad. The fund would then be used to pay for legal advice, psychological support, repatriation, and other expenses..
Also, human rights groups are urging the new coalition to oust the current interior minister for challenging court rulings on same-sex partnerships. We had more on that earlier, here.
DEFENCE UPDATES
We had a series of defence updates this week, so here they are:
– Lithuania signed a military satellite deal with Luxembourg.
– Civil defence is getting a boost with additional funding to prepare for evacuations, as well as legal and operational updates.
– A multi-million-euro defence industry park is being set up.
– A billion-worth of military vehicles are inbound, as well as air defence missiles worth several hundred million.
– And Lithuania’s newly-established drone unit is set up for offensive damage, the country’s military chief said with a smile.
EDITOR’S PICKS
– Lithuania lost its beloved "basketball father", Valdas Garastas.
– A drone in Latvia was finally shot down.
– Dive deep into interwar Kaunas.
– Goodbye to Binance.
– Hello River Festival.
– What do we know about Trump’s ambassador nominee for Lithuania?
– Lithuania’s transport minister has indicated one of the country’s EU presidency priorities – ending the seasonal clock changes.
– Why is Putin still threatening the Baltics?
– LGBT crowds and Catholic pilgrims did some marching.
– And are marathons starting to get on your nerves?
Written by Benas Gerdžiūnas
Edited by Agnė Toločkaitė
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