Lietuva in brief - 2010-04-28

  • 2010-04-28

The Seimas Labor Party addressed the Chief Official Ethics Commission (VTEK) asking to investigate whether representatives of the Seimas Homeland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrats political group, who arrived to a party event held at Lazdijai public library on March 26 in official cars, abused their positions and confused public and private interests, reports ELTA. According to media reports, MPs Kazys Starkevicius, Jurgis Razma, Jonas Simenas, Antanas Matulas, Mantas Adomenas and a number of other politicians of the conservative party attended the meeting in Lazdijai. As members of the Labor Party point out, the inscriptions on the cars announced that these means of transport belonged to the administrations of certain municipalities. In a number of cars, there were personal drivers waiting for the politicians. According to the report from the Labor Party, the politicians who took part in the meeting submitted different information on the purpose of the meeting.

On April 22-23, at the informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Tallinn, NATO’s new Strategic Concept was discussed, reports ELTA. The new Strategic Concept of the Alliance should be agreed on in November during the Lisbon Summit. At the meeting, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Azubalis said that Lithuania’s interest in the preparation of the Strategic Concept is not limited just to the defense of the Baltic States. “In the new document, Lithuania and its allies aim to set an entirety of the Alliance’s goals and objectives, which would integrally estimate the strategic security environment and perspectives of change, and would outline the directions for building the Alliance’s forces. Article 5 must remain the fundamental element of the new Concept,” the Minister stressed. Azubalis emphasized the need to maintain a proper balance in nuclear and conventional weapons, to avoid decreasing the security of NATO member countries.