Denmark is to assume control on July 1 of the NATO-led air-policing mission in the Baltic states. Since the Baltic states' accession to the alliance on March 29, Belgian F-16s have been stationed at a Siauliai air base in northwestern Lithuania to respond in the case of unauthorized entry into Baltic air space.
Following a meeting with Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic, acting President Arturas Paulauskas announced that Lithuania had no intention of removing its troops from Iraq. While both countries have sent 120 personnel to Iraq each, Lithuania's decision to keep troops in the area in spite of mounting violence was questioned by some politicians during this month's elections.
Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas voiced his support for former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso as the next president of the European Commission. The Foreign Ministry said that Durao Barroso would best understand the interests of Lithuania, as he also hails from a small country that has recently undergone economic and political reforms.
According to the most recent poll, the Labor Party, founded last year by millionaire MP Viktor Uspaskich, has the support of every third Lithuanian. The market analysis and research group RAIT found that 33.8 percent of respondents trusted the populist party the most. The Social Democratic Party was second with 11 percent.
Lithuania is presenting the ancient pagan city of Kernave as a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Site status at the body's meeting in Suzhou, China. If successful, Kernave would join Vilnius Old Town and the Curonian Spit as Lithuania's third world heritage site.
A Foreign Ministry delegation traveled to Washington to discuss a future visa-free travel regime between Lithuania and America. U.S. officials have repeatedly stated that Lithuania's membership in the EU and NATO would have little influence on its bid to gain visa-free travel. At similar meetings with diplomats at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, visa-free travel to the country was secured for Lithuanians.
The daily Lietuvos Rytas reported that members of the government took aim at migration department chief Almantas Gavenas for not resolving the residency status of Yuri Borisov, impeached President Rolandas Paksas' largest financial supporter who was stripped of his Lithuanian citizenship in January. Borisov remains in Lithuania in spite of warnings from the State Security Department that he is a threat to national security.
A match between Moscow's Spartak football club and Atlantas in Klaipeda resulted in numerous incidents of violence over the holiday weekend. Police reported over 100 physical conflicts in Klaipeda, while a group of 30 Russian fans vandalized cafes in Palanga. Atlantas supporters likewise threw stones at a bus full of Spartak fans.
