Lietuva in brief

Nord Balt
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite believes the NordBalt electricity connection between Lithuania and Sweden, plus the opening of the LitPol Link between Lithuania and Poland, mean “electricity can no longer be used to blackmail Lithuania.”
The LitPol Link connection was opened in Vilnius on Dec. 14, 2015, while the NordBalt cable runs between the Lithuanian coastal city of Klaipeda and Nybro in Sweden.
Speaking to LRT Radio on the morning of Dec. 14, Grybauskaite said electricity and gas prices had been used by Russia as a means of blackmail for 25 years.

Nord Stream 2
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite believes should Russian energy giant Gazprom construct its NordStream 2 gas pipeline, then EU energy security would be threatened.
Grybauskaite feels the pipeline would violate the EU’s principles of an energy union, raise the degree of the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, and prohibit gas flow through Ukraine.
“This is a threat to the energy security of more than just Ukraine, it’s a threat to all of Europe,” Grybauskaite said in a press release circulated on Dec. 8, following her meeting with Hungarian President Janos Ader.

Thanks to Straujuma
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius has thanked his outgoing Latvian counterpart, Laimdota Straujuma, for her co-operation in Lithuanian-Latvian relations.
Staujuma resigned on Dec. 7, 2015.
“I hope that after the new Latvian government is formed, we will continue to focus on building a common market in the energy sector, focus on the initiative of protecting the external border, plus working on security and the boosting of economic immunity in the face of today’s challenges,” said Butkevicius.

Rehab for Lithuanian soldiers
Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed that in 2016, the country will provide rehabilitation to 50 Ukrainian armed forces soldiers injured in the war in Eastern Ukraine.
The first group of soldiers will arrive in Jan. 2016.