BNS: Highlights of Monday 15min.lt

Coalition agreement. Conservatives, the Liberal Movement and the Freedom Party have signed an agreement on a center-right coalition.

Key provisions:

* The parties acknowledge that they have not yet agreed on the level of public sector financing and possible tax changes. The Liberals have not included tax cuts, but promise that labor taxes will not go up and the possibility of abandoning reinvested earnings will be “evaluated.” It promises to increase the efficiency of the public sector, reduce business regulation and encourage investment. Reducing social exclusion is promised by improving access to social services. Pensions, child benefits and other social benefits are not mentioned in the contract.

* The coalition identifies reducing exclusion in education as a top priority. The parties promise to provide children with “the same opportunities to achieve the best education, regardless of their place of residence or social status,” to increase teachers’ salaries to at least 130 percent. average salary, but there is no specific action: a review of the school network or a change in the class basket model.

* The liberal initiative agreed to legalize gay couples and the spelling of non-Lithuanian surnames in passports, but the Conservatives reserved the right to vote freely, including a clause on “differences of opinion within factions. The coalition treaty does not explicitly mention gay couples as a family.

* The Coalition Agreement defines the framework for the negotiations on the composition of the Government: the positions will be distributed in proportion to the number of mandates, giving greater weight relative to the positions of Prime Minister and President of the Seimas. The Conservatives are likely to get the post of prime minister and nine ministers, the Liberal Movement – the post of Speaker of the Seimas and two portfolios of ministers, although they may try to get the third, and the Freedom Party will probably get three portfolios of ministers.

Criticisms of opponents:

The peasants say the treaty is too abstract and the Social Democrats warn that the lack of anticipation of new tax revenue will impede adequate funding for the public sector, education and health, and they promise to oppose a possible liberalization of labor relations.

Coronavirus situation:

* Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech have announced that their COVID-19 vaccine is 90% effective. This news prompted a sharp rise in prices in the stock and oil markets. Results from ongoing phase III studies show that people become resistant to the coronavirus one week after the second dose of the vaccine, which is given 28 days after the first. The vaccine was tested by 43.5 thousand. people in six states. The companies promise to apply for a license later this month. Once received, they could administer 50 million doses before the end of the year. However, logistical challenges will remain as the vaccine must be stored below 80 degrees.

* 1056 cases of coronavirus were detected in Lithuania per day, three people died. 944 people are treated in hospitals for COVID-19, 80 of them in resuscitation. The biggest concern is that more and more doctors are becoming infected with coronavirus.

* 21 people were fined over the weekend for quarantine and self-isolation violations. Officials inspected about 2,000. people in self-isolation.

* United States President-elect Joe Biden has announced a team of scientists to lead his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. This shows that fighting COVID-19 will be one of his top priorities when he takes office on January 20.

* Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the quarantine after long opposing the new restrictions. With the rapid spread of the coronavirus, universities, bars and restaurants in Hungary will close from Wednesday, and schools are cutting lessons for older students.

Corruption case. Prosecutors referred to court the case of Valdimaras Bavėjanas, former president of the Criminal Chamber of the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, in which he was charged with influence peddling and abuse. It is suspected that the judge may have tried to influence the case in which his friend was being tried. Mr Bavėjan was fired last fall.

Confusion in Estonia. Marta Helme, Estonia’s far-right interior minister, who called Biden “corrupt,” resigned. He said he was leaving office for “slander and lies in the Estonian media. “No one can shut me up,” Helme said. The Estonian president says the minister’s comments could harm Estonia’s relations with the United States and Estonian security. His son, Finance Minister Martin Helme, who called the US election rigged, remains in office for the time being, but a vote of no confidence is being filed in parliament. The father and son lead the far-right Estonian Conservative People’s Party EKRE.

Arrests in Belarus. The human rights organization Viasna said more than 1,000 people were detained during the demonstrations against Aliaksandr Lukashenko on Sunday. This is the highest number of arrests in recent months. Opposition leader Sviatlana Cichanouskaya, who lives in Lithuania, condemned the actions of the militia. “More than a thousand people were arrested, hundreds of people were beaten with their feet or with sticks. Is this how you show power? Chichanouskaya said in a video.

Transatlantic dispute. Following a long-running dispute over subsidies between aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus, the European Union has announced that it will impose new tariffs on US products. According to unofficial information, the EU intends to impose tariffs on US-made aircraft, as well as tractors, sweet potatoes, peanuts, frozen orange juice, tobacco, ketchup and Pacific salmon.

Delay in the East. China and Russia have so far refused to congratulate Biden on his victory in the US presidential election, as have European leaders and some US allies in the Middle East and Asia. Moscow and Beijing say official results are still pending. Current President Donald Trump continues to refuse to admit defeat and vows to file complaints with the courts in the coming weeks about alleged electoral fraud.

The massacre of Russia. A twenty-year-old Russian conscript killed three soldiers at a base near the southern city of Voronezh. Russian officials investigating the incident say the crime could have been committed due to nervous exhaustion.

Court of The Hague. Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci first faced an international tribunal in The Hague to investigate possible war crimes committed by former ethnic Albanian rebel leaders.

Riots in Ethiopia. Ethiopian air forces have been hit by airstrikes in the semi-autonomous region of North Tigris. Some observers warn that this East African country could enter a civil war.