Lietuva in brief - 2012-05-31

Diplomatic difficulties between Poland and Lithuania are showing no signs of abating, and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite is reported to have taken thes latest swipe at Poland while on a visit to the U.S. Grybauskaite, while speaking to a gathering of the Lithuanian-American community in Illinois, said that “Polish politicians have decided that... it is better to have Russia as a friend, and all other smaller countries, which are not so important, could become scapegoats. It seems that this is the role we have been given,” lithuaniatribune.com reported. In response, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told journalists, “we don’t have the original transcript of the statements, but I can’t imagine that such a statement could come now when Polish pilots are protecting the skies over the Baltic States.” Polish-Lithuanian ties have been strained in recent times, largely due to Polish accusations that the Lithuanian government has been discriminating against Polish minorities who live in Lithuania.

Lithuania meets the key structural criteria for euro adoption; however, it is not the new currency that the country has to aim for. The most important task is to secure the stability of public finances, says Nerijus Udrenas, President Dalia Grybauskaite’s adviser on economic and social policy issues, reports ELTA. “We have to be able to handle all ongoing processes and choose what is most beneficial to Lithuania given the current situation. The stability of public finances, given the somewhat uncertain financial situation, is the key condition to introduce the euro. Stable public finances also provide a basis for a normal functioning of the economy,” he said on May 29 on radio Ziniu Radijas. “The economy is flexible and competitive. We export to many different countries. We are competitive enough, but our biggest problem is with the deficit in public finances, and inflation, which is now much harder to curb. But thanks to decreasing oil prices it is possible for us to meet this criterion as well,” he said.