Two new members of Seimas (Lithuanian parliament) took an oath on July 7. Social Democrat Marija Ausrine Pavilioniene and Jonas Pinskus from the Labor party are replacing Vilija Blinkeviciute and Viktor Uspaskich, who were elected as members of the European Parliament on June 7. Both Pinskus and Pavilioniene had been members of the previous parliament.
Head of "Frontas" Party Algirdas Paleckis on July 3 was cleared from charges on initiating riots near the Lithuanian parliament. Leftist Paleckis was one of the organizers of the protests of January 16, which grew into uncontrollable riots with 34 civilians and a few police officers injured. Vilnius' 2nd district court found that Paleckis tried to calm down the people by encouraging them to abstain from violence and comply with the order, and invited them to go to the government building. The court decision can be appealed.
The President's Office received an envelope with strange white powder addressed to the newly elected President Dalia Grybauskaite, who takes over the office on July 12. The sender of the envelope was designated as Vitas Tomkus, the editor of daily newspaper Respublika. However, Tomkus said he did not send the envelope and the editorial office received a similar envelope, sent from the Presidential Office. Both of the envelopes were taken for analysis. This is the second time Respublika received a strange envelope with white powder this year.
The newly elected President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite announced the composition of her team on July 3. Economist Nerijus Udrenas, former advisor to the president and now an analyst of SEB bank, will be the head of the economic and finance policy group. Jonas Markevicius will be the head of national security group, Solveiga Cirtautiene head of the Law department, Linas Balsys head of the press office, Darius Semaska head of foreign policy group, Audrone Nugaraite head of policy analysis and institutional relations' group, and Virginija Budiene advisor on education and science matters.
Algirdas Semeta, a former finance minister, has become European Commissioner for financial programming and budget from July 1. Semeta replaces Dalia Grybauskaite, who was elected as the new President of Lithuania and takes her oath on July 12. The mandate of the European Commission in the current composition elapses on Oct. 31 but Lithuania hopes to retain the mandate.
The Organization for Security and Economic Co-operation (OSCE) adopted Vilnius declaration on July 3, the concluding document of the 18th annual session of the OSCE Parliamentary assembly. The Declaration, voted on by 213 parliamentarians from 50 OSCE countries, contains the 28 adopted resolutions. Among them are the resolutions on the world financial crisis and the social consequences of that crisis, Iran, Afghanistan, human rights and civil liberties, arms control and disarmament in Europe, labor migration in Central Asia, energy security, climate change, water management, freedom of expression on the Internet, and a moratorium on the death penalty. This is the first time OSCE held a session in one of the Baltic States.
