The Latvian airline AirBaltic is removing four routes from Vilnius Airport as of September. Meanwhile, flights to four destinations – Paris, Berlin, Tallinn and Riga – will be less frequent. AirBaltic will stop operating flights to Oslo, London Gatwick, Dublin and Hamburg from September. AirBaltic says it is facing a shortage of aircraft parts. However,…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda will seek to secure EU leaders’ support amid Russia’s threats to Lithuania over the recently introduced ban of the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The president will raise this issue at the forthcoming European Council meeting later this week, Asta Skaisgiryte, the president’s chief foreign policy…
Russia’s exclave of Kaliningrad is not under blockade, and transit sanctions only affect a limited list of goods, Lithuania’s Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte emphasized, rejecting Moscow’s accusations that Vilnius was violating international treaties. “There’s no blockade of Kaliningrad. It’s just that since last weekend, sanctions have come into force on some of the goods included…
Lithuania is likely to receive another 70 million euros from the European Commission to deal with the migrant crisis, Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite has said. The EU’s executive body said in late 2021 that 200 million euros would be earmarked for beefing up border protection in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland over the coming years, but…
Last week, Latvia banned Russian and Belarusian nationals and firms from holding stakes or managing companies key to national security. Lithuania has already similar controls in place, according to an MP. “We already have what Latvians have done, as companies that do not meet the Euro-Atlantic security criteria simply cannot participate in transactions, let alone…
Lithuania’s state railways have banned the transit of sanctioned Russian goods to and from the exclave of Kaliningrad, Anton Alikhanov, the region’s governor, has said. In a post on Telegram, he said the ban would affect up to half of products imported and exported through Lithuania. “We consider this to be a most serious violation…
With more people frequently crossing the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, Lithuania’s customs officers say they will step up controls to prevent smuggling. Over 124,000 people crossed the border in January-March, almost four times more than during the same period in 2021, the customs service said. Such frequency suggests that some travelers may be transporting goods for illegal…