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The approved results also establish that in 2008 the state budget was adopted in violation of fiscal discipline, and the government, instead of borrowing cheaper from international institutions, borrowed on the market at higher interest rates.
63 parliamentarians voted in favor of the adoption of the conclusions, 41 members of the Seimas opposed, seven politicians abstained.
“It is important that we discover everything without looking at the political nuances, it was not the most important objective. We found out what mistakes we made and how not to repeat them in the future, “said Viktoras Rinkevičius, a” peasant “, at the Seimas session.
Photo by Lukas Balandis / 15min / Viktoras Rinkevičius
“We have to learn from our mistakes so as not to be completely stupid.”
Valius Ąžuolas, a “peasant”, chairman of the Seimas Budget and Finance Committee, said that due to the mistakes of the conservative government that worked during the crisis, the entire state had to pay.
“What was being done at the time? Non-cumulative reserves, a huge debt charged to Sodra, retirees had to pay huge interest.
Photo by Luke April / 15min / Valius Oak
And how was the loan? The State Audit Office recognized that the loans were made in violation of the law. The loan was made in a closed manner, directly from the banks. We know very well what the interest is, “said the politician.
The opposition did not support the conclusions of the investigation. Liberal Eugenijus Gentvilas said the investigation was used in a political fight to help last year’s “peasant” presidential candidate, Saulius Skvernelis, fight Ingrid Šimonytė, the finance minister during the crisis, and Gitan Nausėdas, who had been elected head of the SEB bank.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Eugenijus Gentvilas
Conservative Gintarė Skaistė said judging opponents’ political decisions is biased, voters should do so during elections.
He also argued that as the country faced a new crisis caused by the coronavirus, those responsible for the crisis were engaged in “archeology” rather than effectively combating the crisis.
Look at crisis management now that state support for companies affected by Covid-19 is at 10.6 percent today, when the quarantine ends. (…) If you are satisfied with such things and do not believe that other people will come to evaluate your crisis management strategy, then it seems to me that you are very short-sighted, “said the MP.
Photo by Julius Kalinskas / 15min / Amber Skaistė
The study’s approved results suggest that the government examine the possibility of establishing a state commercial bank, a supervisory authority independent of the central bank and financed by contributions from financial institutions. This is expected to strengthen consumer protection.
It is proposed to reduce the dependence of the country’s financial system on the decisions of several parent banks, especially if they are from a single country.
It is proposed that the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation evaluate the government’s decisions to borrow in 2009-2012 and that, as a result, 2.1 billion have been taken. Damage to the state, as well as the provision of loans with an interest rate of 8% for Sodra, discrediting it and significantly reducing the purchasing power of old-age pensions.
The findings also include a proposal for prosecutors to assess the role of large commercial banks in causing crisis phenomena in Lithuania, as well as their actions using the Vilibor interbank interest rate index.
Last August, the Attorney General’s Office declared that it would not defend the public interest due to possible violations related to the interbank interest rate index 2008-2009 Vilibor, which had caused an increase in the interest rates of loans for housing in litas. According to prosecutors, the investigation did not provide objective evidence that authorities supervising commercial banks had violated the law.
The Bank of Lithuania stated a few weeks ago that the information in the study report is presented selectively, without taking into account certain calculations and facts presented to the committee.
The idea of investigating why during the crisis, in 2009-2012, the rulers made decisions that could be detrimental to the country’s finances was proposed by a group of parliamentarians in 2017: the majority of divided Social Democrats and “peasants” as well like several former “police” and Lithuanian Poles. members of the family union group.
The investigation was carried out by the Seimas Budget and Finance Committee. It was headed by “peasant” Stasys Jakeliūnas, who currently works in the European Parliament.
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