Lithuania dropped four notches to rank 12th out of 165 countries and territories in the Fraser Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World index. In the latest report, based on 2020 data, Lithuania scored 7.82 out of a possible 10 points, 1.1 points lower than a year ago. According to the Canadian think tank, Lithuania’s…
The Lithuanian Defence Ministry on September 30 signed a contract with a Polish company for the acquisition of kamikaze drones for Ukraine. The ministry has said Lithuania will use funds raised in a crowdfunding campaign to buy Warmate drone systems from Poland’s WB Group and hand them over to Ukraine. Deputy Defence Minister Vilius Semeska…
High electricity bills are pushing many restaurants and cafes in Lithuania to close down, but the government is not planning any relief. The Tabera restaurant in Vilnius is celebrating its 27th anniversary this year. Such longevity in the catering business is rare. However, it is now operating in crisis mode – only three employees are…
Lithuania will spend an additional 148 million euros on defence this year and buy Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV), HIMARS rocket systems, radars and ammunition. On September 28, the country’s government approved the allocation of additional funds planned in the budget after the Finance Ministry updated its GDP forecast, as overall defence funding was linked…
Lithuania’s parliamentary committees on September 28 ended their discussions on a proposal to fund reconstruction of Ukraine’s water supply system through an additional water tariff for Lithuanian residents. Environment Minister Simonas Gentvilas, who proposed the idea, withdrew the draft amendment. “It would be legally difficult to implement it,” the minister said at a meeting of…
Lithuania will get back to the issue of handing over its PzH 2000 German howitzers to Ukraine later, once the government receives an assessment from the military leadership on the possible impact of such a decision, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says. The issue was not on the agenda of the National Defence Council’s meeting on…
The Lithuanian parliament Seimas on September 27 voted in favour of keeping the current zero VAT rate on district heating for two more heating seasons. The measure, proposed to mitigate a surge in heating bills, is estimated to cost over 110 million euros to the state. The amendments to the Law on Value Added Tax…