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On 6 March the founding congress of the Unity party (Vienotiba) was held in Riga. The new party is composed of the conservative-national Civic Alliance, the Liberal New Era Party and the centrist Association for Different Politics. These parties, despite differences in their programmes and the personal ambitions of their leaders, allied themselves against common political opponents – the Harmony Centre backed by the Russian minority and parties linked with Latvian oligarchs. Vienotiba will be one of the favourites at the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2010 and it seems that it is the only one that stands a chance of combating the Harmony Centre that has been leading opinion polls for many months now. more »
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met on 10 February during the summit of the Baltic Sea region leaders in Helsinki. This was the first time leaders of Russia and Lithuania have met since 2001. The entire meeting was devoted to discussing economic relations. more »
On 29 January, President Dalia Grybauskaite accepted the candidacy of Audronius Azubalis, the conservative chairman of the foreign affairs committee, for the position of minister of foreign affairs. He was put up as a candidate by the ruling conservative-Christian democratic party. Azubalis is known for his nationalist views; he wants to adopt a hard-line policy towards Moscow and disfavours the Polish minority. However, as a member of Andrius Kubilius’s cabinet, he is expected to follow the guidelines set in the government’s programme in close co-operation with President Dalia Grybauskaite. more »
In the first three weeks of January the index of the Estonian stock exchange OMX Tallinn soared by nearly 30% and reached the highest level in 15 months. Optimism among Estonian investors stems from Estonia's increasingly likely entry into the eurozone in 2011 and related hopes for an improvement in the country's economic situation. Estonia is now the only state from those aspiring to the eurozone that stands a chance of fulfilling the economic requirements indispensable to adopt the common currency. more »
In line with the Lithuanian authorities' commitment towards the EU, on 31 December 2009 the second and last operating block of the Ignalina power plant was closed down. Overnight Lithuania turned from an exporter to an importer of electric energy. Ignalina's decommissioning did not trigger shortages of energy. more »
