EU Sanctions Imposed
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry announced that on March 2, the Council of the European Union imposed targeted restrictive measures on four Russian officials responsible for the jailing of Alexei Navalny and the repression of peaceful protests. This is the first time that the EU has imposed sanctions in the framework of the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime or the so-called EU Magnitsky Law. Adopted on December 7, 2020, it allows individuals, entities, and other bodies responsible for constant serious human rights violations to be named. Alexander Kalashnikov, Head of the Federal Prison Service, Alexander Bastrykin, Head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Igor Krasnov, the Prosecutor-General, and Viktor Zolotov, Head of the National Guard, have been listed. The restrictive measures consist of a travel ban and freezing of assets. The four Russian individuals are responsible for serious human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions, as well as widespread and systematic repression of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and freedom of opinion and expression in their country.
Wage Growth
Lithuania’s labor force contracted in 2020, but the average wage grew by around 13%, almost as quickly as in previous years, according to figures released by the social insurance fund SoDra.
The monthly average gross wage rose 12.7% in the fourth quarter of 2020 from a year before to 1,467 euros, and the average net pay rose 13.3% to 935 euros, SoDra announced on March 2.
However, the number of insured people fell by 1.9% to 1.227 million. Kristina Zitikytė from SoDra noted that the pandemic and the lockdown had somewhat slowed, but not stopped the average wage growth in the country.
Health Centre Chief Fired
Robertas Petraitis, director of Lithuania’s National Public Health Centre (NVSC), will be dismissed from his post on March 10, Health Minister Arūnas Dulkys has announced. The move follows a negative assessment of the director’s performance in 2020.
Dulkys announced his dismissal of Petraitis in mid-February, but the NVSC director then said he would appeal the decision. The commission of appeal corroborated Dulkys’ findings and his assessment. The NVSC has come under fire for unreliable coronavirus statistics and failure to carry out timely epidemiological investigations. Petraitis previously said that the moves against him were political. Giedrė Aleksienė, head of the Infectious Diseases Management Division of the NVSC, will take over as the center’s acting director.
Taking Business to Taiwan
The Lithuanian government has announced plans to open a business representation office in Taiwan this year, a move that may prompt outrage from China’s authorities. The government’s programme includes strengthening and diversifying economic diplomacy in the Asian region, according to Skaistė Barauskienė, spokesperson for the economy minister. Lithuania, like many other countries, has no official relations with Taiwan, which Beijing considers to be part of China. The step may strain Vilnius’ ties with Beijing. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin, said that Beijing “staunchly opposes any of the countries it has diplomatic ties with – including Lithuania – setting up official institutions in Taiwan and vice versa, and carrying out any form of official visit”.
“We urge Lithuania to uphold the One China Principle and strictly abide by the commitment in establishing diplomatic ties; do not be used by Taiwanese independence forces; and do not do things that will harm mutual political trust,” he told a news conference in Beijing.
With news from LRT.lt
