Lietuva in brief - 2010-11-25

Former Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus considers any attempt to cater to the dictatorship as unacceptable and compares Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko with Adolf Hitler, adding that “it’s not worthy to cooperate with such dictators as Lukashenko for the sake of stability,” Telegraf.by reports. In an interview with a Lithuanian news Web site, Adamkus voiced his opinion about the recent statements of the incumbent President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite regarding the political situation in Belarus. “I am categorically opposed to any dictatorship. Before the Second World War, Neville Chamberlain, Edouard Daladier, Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler signed an agreement at the Munich conference on the basis you are now standing for. Any attempt to please and justify the dictatorship is unacceptable for me,” Adamkus said. As Telegraf previously reported,  Grybauskaite, in November, stated that the victory of Lukashenko in the Belarusian presidential elections would limit the influence of Moscow on Minsk, as well as would maintain stability in the EU’s neighboring country.

Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius believes that long-term pension reform is likely to be a serious challenge to the whole social welfare system, thus, the experience of EU member states would be very useful for seeking the best solutions, reports ELTA. On Nov. 19 Kubilius had a meeting with European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Laszlo Andor, where they discussed pension reform in Lithuania and the possibilities of making use of the European Union’s long-term experience in the social sector. The Cabinet is set to consider a working group’s proposals for  long-term pension reform.