Lietuva in brief - 2010-03-10

Sweden’s Minister for European Union (EU) Affairs Birgitta Ohlsson announced her intention to take part in the Baltic Pride parade in Vilnius on May 8, reports The Lithuanian Tribune. The minister stated that she will also participate in the March 11 celebrations in Vilnius. Ohlsson criticized the controversial Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effects of Public Information, which censors certain information as unacceptable for the country’s youth. The law came into effect on March 1. She said “I know that the word ‘homosexuality’ was removed from the law but, at the same time, you are not allowed to distribute information about single-sex marriages, for example, and about other untraditional family values. It is not beneficial for teenagers and an open society to apply laws which relate to censorship in any way. This is not a correct way to proceed, you have to be open.” She also added that this law is seriously damaging Lithuania’s image abroad.

From Feb. 26 - March 4, 7,100 jobseekers were registered with the Lithuanian regional labor exchanges. Young people accounted for 19.6 percent of the jobseekers, reports ELTA. According to the data of the Lithuanian Labor Exchange, among the registered jobseekers, almost 1,800 people (26.1 percent) lost their jobs over the past six months. Over February 26 - March 4, employers registered 1,800 vacancies, 25% more than the week before. During this period, the Labor Exchange helped 3,026 people find employment, the largest number this year. On March 4, there were 298,600 jobseekers holding the status of unemployed. At the end of the day, the database of the Lithuanian Labor Exchange included 1,709 vacancies.