Kirkorov is included in the list of undesirables.

“Performers who publicly justify the occupation of Crimea should not be tolerated in any democracy. We have an unequivocal position on the issue of such actors, therefore there was no question about the inclusion of F. Kirkorov in the list of undesirable people in Lithuania, ”said Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė in the press release.

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a communication to the Department of Migration of the Ministry of the Interior requesting the inclusion of Filip Kirkorov, a Russian-Bulgarian citizen, in the national list of foreigners banned from entering the Republic of Lithuania, stating that territorial integrity and sovereignty, and thus indirectly justified the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation. “

According to Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, the participation of F. Kirkorov in concerts in Crimea “substantially damages the national security of Lithuania”. The minister promised that Lithuania would systematically evaluate all the people that Russia “seeks to exploit by spreading its foreign policy and trying to influence the Lithuanian people.”

Considerations for expanding the so-called blacklist in the public sphere arose when it became clear that subsidies for lost or relocated cultural events were awarded to companies planning concerts by Russian artists Filip Kirkorov and Mikhail Shufutinsky.

“Terrible mistake”

The Seimas’ Culture and National Security and Defense Committees held a joint meeting on Tuesday to discuss criteria that could lead to foreign cultural figures being unable to show their programs in Lithuania. There was also talk of Cultural Council grants for failed or relocated cultural events for companies that have planned concerts by Russian artists Filip Kirkorov and Mikhail Shufutinsky. The Cultural Council will no longer provide that support.

Consequently, they received almost 13.7 thousand. and almost 17 thousand. euros.

These artists publicly support the Kremlin regime and have performed in Russia’s annexed Crimea.

It turned out that it was simply not possible not to grant subsidies to the companies organizing these concerts.

Laurynas Kasčiūnas, chairman of the National Defense and Security Committee (NSGC), stated that the meeting was not to seek culprits.

“We gather here not to look for culprits, but to look for recipes so that these lessons are not repeated,” L. Kasčiūnas said at the meeting.

He argued that it was necessary to create a kind of filter to compile a list of desirable and undesirable people.

“We all understand that a terrible mistake has been made, I would say,” said Vytautas Juozapaitis, president of the Culture Commission.

In the future, the Lithuanian Culture Council will no longer distribute subsidies to cultural institutions for losses suffered during a pandemic, says V. Juozapaitis, chairman of the Seimas Committee on Culture.

“I note that the subsidies will continue to be paid, but they will no longer be paid to the Council of Culture, which is probably incredible at all. The Council of Culture, an expert institution obliged to make payments without expert opinion, becomes a tool of the mechanism, which contradicts the mission of the same institution, ”said V. Juozapaitis during the joint meetings of the Culture and National Security Committees and Defense of Seimas this Tuesday.

Grant could not be awarded

Deputy Minister of Culture Daina Urbanavičienė said at the committee meeting that she was very sorry about the situation.

He explained that last year the previous government allocated some 17 million euros to the cultural sector in its rescue after the first pandemic.

“Thus, a working group of the Minister of Culture was formed, which was in charge of developing certain measures according to which such support could reach the cultural sector,” the vice minister reiterated the procedure for granting support.

He said organizers of cultural events had offered funds to organizers of canceled events.

“We have received a request from the organizers of cultural events for a grant program for canceled events. (…) This is not a design evaluation, it was decided to abandon the expert evaluation. Here it was only necessary to evaluate economic and factual issues”, explained the Vice Minister of Culture.

D. Urbanavičienė highlighted that the artistic or cultural quality of the events was not evaluated.

“I agree, this situation is very unpleasant for me and for the members of the Lithuanian Council of Culture. I find that location of the firm very unpleasant. But we couldn’t help but help him. We asked the lawyers if there were levers, maybe a list of unwanted artists, but unfortunately the conditions were such that we had no right not to support them ”, explained D. Urbanavičienė.

She promised that if there was an opportunity, an attempt would be made to get this money back.

Architect Rolandas Palekas, a member of the Culture Council, said he was feeling a bit confused. However, he questioned whether he, as a member of the council, should monitor the activities of artists from other countries.

“I feel indirectly accused of being a member of the Cultural Council for not doing some homework. They have hardly wondered. (…) Yes, I may have been able to monitor, as a member of the council, monitor the performers of hostile states, but I don’t know if it is my duty. It’s hard for me to get into this situation, ”said a member of the Cultural Council.

He said he was really unhappy with that decision.

R. Palekas, who participated in the meeting of the two Seimas committees, stated that the situation improves slightly due to the fact that this amount was allocated only to the companies that organized the concerts due to economic losses, and not to the artists themselves .

The president of the Culture Committee, V. Juozapaitis, explained that the members of the Culture Council should follow the activities of artists from other countries. Society must do the same.

“Sometimes a formal approach to a certain thing can be turned towards us,” said deputy Juozapaitis.

The Chairman of the Committee on Culture noted that the organizers of the F. Kirkorov concert are well known in Lithuania, they organize the most important concerts of Lithuanian artists and organize well-known music festivals.

Proposes to develop a common list

Seimas member Liuda Pociūnienė explained that a common list of unwanted people should be drawn up. And this can only be done through active and long-term monitoring and monitoring of the situation by various responsible authorities.

Member of Parliament Vladas Rakutis pointed out the need for a common system.

“We have before us a system that covers all areas of life. And if we don’t build a certain system, we will always lose. (…) You have to build another soccer team in front of the soccer team, do not specify the posts, because they will prevent us from running on the field ”, explained the parliamentarian.

The politician explained that a coordination center should be created at the government level, made up of people with good knowledge of the situation. And each ministry would have staff who are constantly monitoring the situation.

“We should not only have collective decision-makers here, but also specialists who would advise and send that material for decision-making,” suggested V. Rakutis.

Former Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis emphasized that the Council of Culture had done what it had to do. According to him, such artists are not included in the list of undesirable people.

“Let’s not forget what the threat is in sports. Three Russian basketball teams arrived in Lithuania, one of them CSKA, directly related to the Red Army. It should also be banned,” the former prime minister ironically stressed that the responsible authorities are monitoring which cannot be admitted in Lithuania.

Laws can be changed

NSGK Director L. Kasčiūnas stated that we need to think about certain fuses.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Egidijus Meilūnas, recalled what is written in the Law on the legal status of foreigners with regard to the prohibition to enter Lithuania.

Thus, the relevant paragraphs of article 133 establish:

4. A foreigner is prohibited from entering the Republic of Lithuania for a period not exceeding 5 years if there are reasonable grounds to believe that he has committed a serious or very serious crime against a person in a foreign state and has violated human rights and universally recognized freedoms, corruption or money laundering, as defined in the laws of the Republic of Lithuania or international agreements, or who instigated or participated in the commission of such crimes and / or for these reasons the foreigner is included in another Member State of the European Union, European Free Trade Association or North National list of foreigners who are prohibited from entering the Atlantic Treaty Organization.

5. A foreigner is prohibited from entering the Republic of Lithuania if he may pose a threat to state security or public order. The period of prohibition of entry to the Republic of Lithuania can be longer than five years.

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, E. Meilūnas, explained that 10 institutions in the country can order the non-admission of a person.

“If there were decisions, the legislation, the Law on the Legal Status of Foreigners or the relevant government resolution would have to be amended to include the above-mentioned criteria,” said E. Meilūnas.

Possible changes

The Seimas’ Culture and National Security and Defense Committees held a joint meeting on Tuesday to discuss criteria that could lead to foreign cultural figures being unable to show their programs in Lithuania. There was also talk of Cultural Council grants for failed or relocated cultural events for companies that have planned concerts by Russian artists Filip Kirkorov and Mikhail Shufutinsky. The Cultural Council will no longer provide that support.

NSGK President L. Kasčiūnas stated that the aforementioned law should be supplemented by a provision that performers who publicly or creatively express their support for the aggressive violation of international law by Russia and other states, or question the values ​​of the Lithuanian Constitution cannot enter the country.

In this context, it is also necessary to strengthen inter-institutional cooperation. Also to improve the guidelines for the presentation of projects financed by the Culture Support Fund, which would allow the evaluation of experts when allocating the grants, ”said L. Kasčiūnas.