Lithuania today

Small towns in today’s Lithuania:

CRIME AND DECAY

Many of Lithuania's small towns suffer from decay and increasingly severe crime cases

Text: Aage Myhre, VilNews Editor-in-Chief

Every third year or so I go to visit some acquaintances in one of Lithuania's small towns. A few days ago it was again time to see these exceptionally friendly, nice people, and my little family and I were as always very much welcome guests at the home of our small-town friends when we arrived at the gate in front of their house.

When we last were there, in 2007, this was a family and a society that seemed to be in peaceful harmony. A little sleepy, yet idyllic atmosphere prevailed in both the home and the small town at that time.

No longer so.

“Criminal gangs appear to be about to take over in such a way that we, the law-abiding citizens no longer feel safe neither in the streets nor in our homes. Last night, for example, we were out at a restaurant just ten minutes walk from our house. When it was time to go home, it was already dark outside, and as the situation here has become so bad over the past couple of years we dared not walk, we felt we had no other choice than to take a taxi the few hundred meters back to our home. "

She speaks softly, sad and with deep seriousness in her voice as she explains the situation to us, this gentle woman who has lived in this town all her lifetime. Here she gave birth to and raised her now grown children who have given her great grandchildren whom she talks about with great pride in her voice, still expressing deep concerns on how it will be for them to experience an environment like this during their years of childhood and youth.

"Worst of all," the woman continues, "is that these criminals seem to no longer worry if they are being seen or discovered. Many break-ins in the houses around here happen in broad daylight, and it seems as if the police no longer have control of anything in our dear village.

A neighbour who came home to his house a few days ago was met outside his own front door by a stranger coming out of the house. ‘What are you doing here,’ our neighbour asked. ’ Well,’ replied the stranger, ‘what I had to do, I've already done.’ When our neighbour went in, he understood what the stranger had meant. The house was just completely stripped of all valuable items."

When I asked her what the police do in cases as the one she had just described, our acquaintance just scoffs. She no longer has respect for the police, judiciary or politicians in this country, she says, and more than suggests that many of them probably get a share of the cake from the many thefts and assaults taking place right in front of their noses.

I have, after we left our acquaintances, been trying to find out if the problems she describes about her hometown could also apply to other towns in this country. The answer is, unfortunately very discouraging, confirming that her hometown is not unique with regard to rapidly increasing crime and lack of respect for law and order.

What can we do to make life for this proud, bright woman and the many other law-abiding people around this great country a little safer and brighter again?

It is not up to me to answer, but both our President and our Prime Minister should take this problem seriously before the situation gets even more out of control.

The cancerous tumour is growing every day that passes...

The visit to our acquaintances in one of Lithuania's many small towns made a strong impression on me. When we drove out of town I saw in a new light the buildings, streets and the few people who were out this late afternoon. I saw that my former somewhat romantic view of this rural town was wrong. Or at least not complete. I saw that many of the houses were in decay and that very little had happened since I first came here 20 years ago.

And when I think about it, isn’t this the situation for the majority of Lithuania's small towns? They have not received their fair share of EU funds or investments that made Vilnius and partly the other major cities flourish.

Heritage is about to be lost. Buildings and outdoor environments disintegrate. People are suffering. Criminal gangs are gaining better footholds.

Is this the Lithuania we want to have? Of course not. But it is now. We, the people care about this country, living here or elsewhere on the globe, must begin to take action. It's all up to us, is it not?

Lithuania’s Prime Minister, Andrius Kubilius.

Arrogance and ignorance are not particularly positive characteristics of anyone, and I understand it well if some of our VilNews' readers, who see that I use these words together with a picture of our Prime Minister, predict that I will now be criticising him. So let me hurry to say that these two words are meant for all questionable behaviours seen performed by our governing forces since 1990, not solely for Mr. Kubilius.

I must admit that I over the past 20 years have seen a few Lithuanian leaders whose arrogance and belief in their own excellence in some cases have prevented progression and good development for Lithuania. Still today I miss leaders who are good at listening to their own Lithuanian people, wherever in the world they may live, and I miss leaders able to inspire and be unifying figures and good examples for the nation they are appointed to serve. Leaders able to lead, not only manage.

I have also very much been missing to see our leaders seek advice from other countries and its own diasporas; to learn from mistakes and experiences these nations went through during the years when Lithuania was still under Soviet rule. Instead, time after time, we have seen Lithuanian leaders trying to reinvent the wheel.

PM Kubilius' profound measures for savings and cuts during the very serious financial crisis Lithuania still experiences, is for me an example of just that. In my opinion, the type of medicine he has been using is to compare to putting the brakes on for a car that already stands still, or closing the tap when the well is already empty. 

Countries in Scandinavia and North-Western Europe have the background and resources to make cuts. Lithuania and other Eastern European countries are, after the long Soviet-era economic mismanagement, not in such a fortunate situation. Here most of the resources should have been spent on finding new fuel for the car and fresh spring water for the well. 

Being a Norwegian, I believe Norway and the other Scandinavian countries would have been willing to stretch to great lengths to provide help and advice for the crisis-hit Lithuania and the two other Baltic States. But they had to be asked.

Our Lithuanian leaders should refrain from arrogance and avoid ignorance by seeking advice where good help and advice is to find, domestic and internationally. Can they do that, there is every reason to foresee a bright future for this nation.

The Lithuanian people deserve exactly that. They have suffered enough.

The airport comparison

Vilnius Airport’s terminal building from 1954 was built during Stalin’s last years.
It still remains the airport’s main face towards Vilnius City.

To make my above point more understandable, I will in the following compare post-war Lithuania to Vilnius Airport. Why? Well, they have more in common than you may think; metaphorically, symbolically and representatively for what has been going on here from WWII till today.

The old airport terminal was built in the years after the war, in typical Stalin style characterised by robust constructions and materials very hard to remove. The building was completed a year after his death, in 1954. After that, the airport remained more or less unchanged through the following 40 years, with Soviet Aeroflot as the sole operator until Lithuania's independence in 1990/91.

The airport was extended in the 1990s. This is the ‘monster’ that for many
years greeted (scared) airline passengers who came to visit independent Lithuania.

In the early 1990s, the airport was starving for total renewal. A public face and symbol of the now free, independent and internationally oriented Lithuania was urgently needed. The new airport should become the pride of the new democracy and an important hub for international airlines that one thought would bring hordes of visitors to the country.  Not least was it estimated that the majority of the many who had emigrated to America, Australia and other countries now would move back to their homeland and contribute actively to the country’s reconstruction.

It was therefore not long before the airport management and the transport ministry chose a group of architects and other experts to travel around the world to look at leading international airports. The airport in Vilnius should be designed on a top global level. Back in Vilnius the architects drew day and night on what would become the country's new pride, and a couple of years later the 'masterpiece' was completed.

But what a tragedy. The architects and the airport authorities had in their arrogance and self-delusions of excellence thought that to visit some prominent international airports would be a good enough background for designing and building the new terminal building. They had not bothered to seek advice from international experts. The result became a new Vilnius Airport that was confusingly similar to misguided Soviet designs, and came to be viewed rather negatively as ridiculous by the international travel industry. 

The 'airport monster' in Vilnius emerged not as a glorious example of a great country developing well, as it had been planned, rather as a symbol of a country where arrogance and ignorance prevented from learning important lessons from other countries.

And it's probably just here we find the most obvious similarity between the past twenty years’ development of the airport and the country's authorities; this that those at the helm have been so convinced of their own excellence that they haven’t cared to seek advice from others.

This can, of course, to a certain extent be understood, as this country through so many years was imposed to 'advices' from others that they no longer wished to accept any outside help when the new times came. 

Probably that was why we in the 1990s got a parody of an airport. Perhaps this ‘blinkers mentality’ is also a contributing factor to why this country's population still suffers from the excessive and unfair tightening measures introduced by the government, rather than enjoying stimulus packages of the kind that are leading people in other countries through the crisis along a far more smooth path?

Maybe the ongoing ‘evacuation’ from this country has much of its background in such arrogant attitudes from the side of the authorities? Maybe people would like to become part of a democratic process and a national teamwork instead of being treated with arrogance and lack of interest from their own leaders?

The airport-building from the 1990s was supposed to appear as modern, as avant-garde. Those behind it were proud of their own excellence. Seen from the outside the building appeared, however, as a parody. Many of Lithuania’s leaders over the past 20 years are surely also proud of what they have achieved. But what about the people?

In 2007 a new extension stood ready. The previous ‘monsters’ were now hidden
behind modern materials and design. Lithuania’s face to the world had finally
reached a level of maturity, hiding many of the old sins. Unfortunately only artificially.

When the 2000s arrived it began to be understood by Lithuania’s leaders that membership in the EU would not only entail benefits, but that they also had to do something for their own part, and when the Schengen Agreement was under preparation it became clear that the Vilnius Airport had to be extended. This new construction was performed quickly and efficiently. There could be no doubt that both the country's architects and contractors had learned very much since the 1990s.

So, what characterises Vilnius Airport now in 2011?

A) The core element is still a building in Stalin Style. It is also this old building's façade that appears towards the side of Lithuania and it is on this side that the taxi drivers still do their best to cheat naïve foreigners and others. The Soviet legacy is still very solid and evident in this country.

B) On the side facing the runway and the international world, there was in the 1990s conducted an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to make a building that both functionally and symbolically should be a showcase of the proud new democracy. This travesty of a building, that so well symbolizes Lithuanian authorities’ thinking for the period 1990-2007, is now hidden between the Stalin-building and the new glass building that was completed in 2007. But the parody was not torn down, and you still have to run up and down the strange 
stairs, in and out of corridors and funny corners, in a maze of steel, concrete and glass produced with Soviet 
technology. What should have been a prominent symbol of the new democracy was instead made a monument of stupidity, greed and lack of transparency.

The airport in Vilnius will not function well if this section is not removed completely. Lithuania will not function well until the greed culture established by its leaders of the 1990s is totally removed.

C) In the 2000s, the building from the 1990s was tucked away between the Stalin building and a new extension that was much better adapted to modern requirements and design ideas. But also this new building is just to a certain degree characterised by measures necessary to make the airport functional and representative of modern times. To mix old and new can often be complicated. To hide old sins behind new façades is more artificial than a sign of real improvements.

So the parallels between Vilnius Airport and post-war Lithuania are quite obvious, aren’t they?

The essential question then, is obviously what is now needed to achieve real change? My opinion is that there as soon as possible should be built a new airport where neither Stalin nor the monsters of the 1990s are given space or influence. We need a solid world-class airport as a proud new symbol of a progressive country - with outstanding leaders and project managers in charge – leaders accepting neither arrogance nor ignorance, neither during the planning and construction phase nor during the operation period.

My comparison between the airport and the nation is still valid. Perhaps, now, the idea of openness and transparency, plus the ability and willingness to listen and learn from others, would not be too bad an advice?

Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief
aage.myhre@vilnews.com

Arrogance, ignorance or…?

Airport and hotel taxes almost killed
the tourism industry.

When Kubilius' government took over in late 2008 they decided to keep the country’s airport charges at a very high level, and to triple the VAT for hotel accommodation. The result was that several international airlines dropped Lithuania as a destination and the number of travellers and hotel stays fell dramatically. Tens of thousands lost their jobs, and the country lost much needed tax dollars. 

2009 was the year when Lithuania celebrated its 1000-year name day. It was also the year when Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture. Despite those positive incentives, the number of visitors to Lithuania became far lower in 2009 than in 2008, primarily due to the government's decisions described above. In 2010, however, the airport fees are reduced considerably and the airlines are finally returning, one year late. But what a sad story isn’t this, for a whole industry and the country.

 

What austerity looks like
The New York Times writes about Lithuania from time to time. Their article from 2010 presents a good and balanced analysis of what's happening in our crisis-ridden country. It says that Kubilius' comprehensive savings measures now appear to give results as the decline in the economy has stopped, but the article also tells of a nation where the people are suffering more and more because of these measures:

These are two of the phrases from the article:

1. “Faced with rising deficits that threatened to bankrupt the country, Lithuania cut public spending by 30 percent — including slashing public sector wages 20 to 30 percent and reducing pensions by as much as 11 percent. Even the Prime Minister, Andrius Kubilius, took a pay cut of 45 percent.”

2. “The psychological toll has been immense. Suicides have increased in a country where the suicide rate of 35 per 100,000 is already one of the world’s highest, local experts say.”

You find the NYT article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/business/global/02austerity.html

 
Plans to do business in Lithuania? It's like navigating
a boat in shallow water full of reefs.

"What you, who are born in the West, see when you come to Lithuania, are people who look like you, talk like you (those who speak Western languages) and are quite much alike you in many other aspects. But the reality is that we who have grown up in the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe have a totally different mentality than you. Even those Lithuanians who fled to the West during the war do not understand what the Soviet era has done with the mindset of us who were forced to grow up under the yoke of communism."

A Lithuanian friend told me this a few days ago. The talk began after he had expressed some surprise at how naive and gullible we from the West are when we come to Lithuania.

"You think that a word is a word, that a deal is a deal. You think that things here are going straight as in the West. You believe that what you hear is what is said, and you trust that people you meet really want and mean to do what is good, honest and correct.”

“Therefore, it doesn’t take much before you open up your cards and often reveal business secrets and other things that you should never have disclosed without first having secured your situation with contracts and local supporters, i.e. lawyers. We Lithuanians are experts in taking advantage of such situations, and we never cease to wonder how gullible people from the West often are. Even within international companies and organisations I am sometimes surprised to see how unaware western professionals are about what goes on behind their backs when they come here," said my friend.

I asked him if this mentality also means that people here do not care much about their own country, doing good for the society in addition to earning a living for themselves. "Only to a small degree," replied my friend. "It is such a difficult situation for most here that there is no additional capacity or desire to also care about the nation. Even our leading politicians do not. Most of them are much more concerned with their own interests than of the nation, and they are normally bad role models for the rest of us. So why should we do more than them?"

"I was born in this country. I fought for this country. I gave everything I
could, both while I lived here and after I was forced to flee to the United
States. I moved back here when Lithuania was again free, and have since
continued to do my best for this country, including through my years as
President. Yet I must admit that I feel like an outsider in my own country."

The sadness in the voice of former President Valdas Adamkus was
unmistakable as he stood and looked towards the Vilnius city through
the windows of his Presidential Palace.

I cannot fully agree with my friend. Yes, there are differences, but also so many similarities and common grounds to build on. But his statements made me think about a conversation I had with the former Lithuanian President, Valdas Adamkus, a few years ago. He was then well into his second and last presidential term, and we had a long and good conversation at his office in the Presidential Palace in Vilnius. When the conversation was over we went together out into the corridor outside his office, where the windows are facing the Cathedral and the central area of Vilnius. 

My last question to the President, in that corridor, was about how close he felt he had come to the Lithuanian people after he returned from the United States in the early 1990s. This is what he answered: 

"You know, Aage, I was born in this country. I fought for this country. I gave everything I could, both while I lived here and after I was forced to flee to the United States at the end of World War II. I moved back here when Lithuania again was free, and I have since continued to do my best for this nation, including through my years as President. Yet I must admit that I feel like an outsider in my own country."

The sadness in the voice of former President Valdas Adamkus was unmistakable as he stood and looked towards the Vilnius city centre through the windows of his Presidential Palace.

Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

THE GREAT NARRATIVE OF LITHUANIA
(An Odyssey of Hope)
LIETUVIŠKA STRATEGIJA 21 A. LIETUVAI
(Vilties Odisėja)

Terms of Work

REBUILDING LITHUANIA ON THE ROCK OF ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND FAITH

A TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO’S BLOOD AND BRAINS MADE FREE LITHUANIA POSSIBLE

Valdas Samonis
Institute for New Economic Thinking, USA
SEMI Online, Globally

SEMI Online
Punskas-Vilnius-Toronto-New York

Copyright by Valdas Samonis & SEMI Online 2011.
I started my research, thinking, and other work on Lithuania during my first high school years in Punskas, Poland, in the mid 1960s prior to my arrest, expulsion from school, as well as my long-term persecution and harassment by the communist security services for my anti-Soviet and freedom-to-Lithuania activities. Since that time, I encountered many people globally to whom I owe a lot of great inspiration and enlightenment in connection with this work, for details please see the Acknowledgements section below.

ABSTRACT. After the period of the development-retarding Soviet occupation and a frantic/chaotic search for systemic solutions in the 1988-2010 freedom-seeking, Lithuania badly needs a fresh and original approach to its socioeconomic system and its due place in the new global economy. This fresh approach, the innovative Great Narrative of Lithuania (GNL) is a qualitatively new global presentation of Lithuania; GNL will use modern economic and management theories and will be rooted in the original and unique overall Lithuanian experience assessed against the background of the world’s (esp. European) experience.

With stagflation, gyrating financial imbalances, recurring asset price bubbles, primarily in the advanced economies but also in emerging markets, there is a rapidly growing need to learn from past crises and attempts at transformations in order to boost the necessary confidence (find a new hope) and to avert or minimize new crises using the most modern knowledge management approaches, innovate in business/economic models and critical areas of institutional/systemic solutions. This is of importance globally and specifically for Lithuania as it moves away from its attempts at traditional comparative and competitive advantages to “softer” aspects of more advanced development involving new sources of those advantages and new institutions/systemic solutions that probably will be a creative blend of the Scandinavian, some Anglo-Saxon (e.g. Canada), and even Asian models (e.g. Singapore, China).

THE GREAT NARRATIVE OF LITHUANIA
REBUILDING LITHUANIA ON THE ROCK OF ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND FAITH

STAGES OF WORK: e-books, e-portfolios, e-cases, internet portals, modern presentations/papers, books, etc

INTRO

ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF LITHUANIA IN THE LIGHT OF THE LATEST THEORIES: Lessons from the Great Recession 2007-10 and Global Transformations;

THE MAIN BODY OF WORK

LESSONS FROM THE DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

Falling Behind: Retarding and Distorting Effects of the Soviet Occupation

Attempts at Traditional Catch-Up in Lithuanian Development 1989-2010

Demographic Change of Lithuania: A Modern Interpretation of the Destiny

The Crucial Issue of Governance in the 21st C Societies; Lessons for Lithuania

LATECOMER’S ADVANTAGE: COMPETITIVE AND COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF LITHUANIA IN THE NEW GLOBAL ECONOMY, A Modern Knowledge Management Approach;

PRESENTING MODERN LITHUANIA TO THE WORLD: The Great Narrative of Lithuania;

VOX POPULI-VOX DEI: THE VIRTUAL INTERACTIVE THINK TANK FOR LITHUANIA, A Modern Digital Collaboration for Permanent Wisdom Sourcing (from Lithuania, Diaspora, and other FOLK: Friends of Lithuania of all Kinds);

NEW HOPE: NEW LITHUANIAN POLICY PARADIGMS: Scandinavian and Global Orientations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

REFERENCES

Memel City will be an immensely attractive seafront development in the Klaipeda harbour, at the Dane River mouth.

Memel City is a new ‘city’ planned built in the port of Klaipeda at the very sea front. A fantastic, amazing project that well might change the face of Lithuania!

The area where the new 'city' will be built is still a part of the port area. Here are still cranes and old production halls, and there are still ships at the dock. But in a few years this will be the most exciting town imaginable in this country. It is even likely to be Lithuania's only seafront project ever.

Memel City will be located at the mouth of the Dane river. On the other bank is planned another project with some similarities to Memel City, though in a smaller scale. The projects will be tied together by a new bridge over the river, and they will together constitute a truly unique development for Klaipeda and Lithuania.

Memel City will include several new quarters with apartments, business, offices, shops, restaurants, a hotel, night clubs, SPA, casino and much more. The quays and the closest sea area will be available for small boats and yachts.

The whole territory covers 6,87 hectare, whereof 5,3 will be occupied by buildings and the rest remain as open green space, squares, outdoor restaurants and more – for joyful use and relaxation by visitors and inhabitants of the new ‘city’.

The ‘city’ will also include a seaside hotel with wonderful view to the Curonian Spit, the Lagoon, the Baltic Sea and Klaipeda city. The buildings will be constructed with 4 - 7 floors.

On the opposite side of the River Dane there is a newly renovated riverfront yacht harbour, old architectural buildings, the historic Klaipeda Castle, the cruise ship harbour - all attractive elements contributing with additional value and charm to the project.

Planned floor space:
Residential – 32.326 sq.m
Offices – 25.355 sq.m
Commercial – 19.308 sq.m
Hotel – 18.412 sq.m
Conference halls – 2.100 sq.m
SPA centers – 4.213 sq.m
Casino – 1.030 sq.m
Restaurants and cafes – 1.192 sq.m
Other – 2.389 sq.m
Reconstructed buildings – 453 sq.m

Klaipedos Nafta has one of the most up-to-date oil terminals in Europe

Rokas Masiulis, General Manager of Klaipedos Nafta

Rokas Masiulis interviewed by Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

Rokas Masiulis has huge challenges, both behind and in front of him. As head of the giant oil terminal belonging to Klaipedos Nafta, he has had good success, and has this year also delivered remarkable economic performance for the company that in essence is owned by the Lithuanian State. Now it's planning and development of the increasingly well-publicized LNG terminal that lies in front of him. The president and the government have decided that the LNG venture will be a project of national concern, and as I’m in the process of writing this interview, the President herself is on a visit to Mr. Masiulis to ensure that the planning of the terminal proceeds 'by leaps and bounds'. 

In the middle of the storm's eye Lithuania's oil-director still found time to answer my questions. His capacity is compelling...

“From your Klaipedos Nafta web page I have read that your company was founded in 1994, that it was entrusted the functions of reconstruction executive of the oil terminal which had been in operation since 1959 in the Klaipeda Seaport, and that your company became operator of the new terminal when reconstruction of the old terminal started in 1995, a reconstruction that was completed in 2002. The web page also tells that today Klaipedos Nafta is one of the most up-to-date oil terminals in Europe. Anything you would like to add about the company’s history? And please explain to our VilNews readers what the functions of an oil terminal like yours are all about?”
“SC Klaipėdos Nafta is a strategic enterprise of the Republic of Lithuania capable of unloading different oil products from rail tank cars into tankers and, when necessary, from tankers into storage tanks. SC Klaipėdos Nafta transports close to one third of all the cargoes shipped via Klaipėda Port. Our company is well known in handling so called “dark petroleum products” (fuel oil, vacuum gasoil) loading of which require special heating equipment. Our company also serves as a backup route for petroleum products import to the country in case supplies are cut from the east.”

“The Lithuanian State is the major shareholder of Klaipedos Nafta. Who are the other shareholders, and why are they involved?”
“The other shareholders comprise of joint stock companies and private persons, from which the largest is AB Achema, owning more than 9% of AB Klaipedos Nafta shares. The minority shareholders play a role as investors through shares free flow in Nasdaq OMX Vilnius.”
“You claim on your web page that experts from British Petroleum have reported positively about;

a. labour safety,
b. environmental protection
c. fire prevention means

of your Klaipedos Nafta Terminal, every year since 2001. After last year’s catastrophe in the Mexican Gulf, BP’s judgements are probably not that worthy anymore, but what can you in general say about the environmental and fire risks having a an oil terminal of this size located so close to a rather large city centre as Klaipeda is?” 

“The Terminal focuses much of its attention on environment protection. Automatic fire detection and extinguishing system, computerized control system of the transshipment process, air, soil and water pollution prevention technologies fully satisfying the European standards have been introduced.  Oily waters from the tankers being serviced at the Terminal are collected and treated in the modern mechanical and biological waste water treatment facilities.”

“SC Klaipėdos Nafta also pays great attention to the measures preventing air pollution with hydrocarbons. Vapour, emitted during technological process, recovery and combustion unit has been installed and is in operation where up to 98 per cent of volatile organic compounds, collected from the tanks of the vessels handled at Company’s jetties or from rail tank-cars during their loading, are being burnt. An advanced close discharge system is in operation. During loading – discharging of oil products tank-car hatches are covered with special caps with valves preventing hydrocarbon emissions into the air. Floating roofs, mounted in the storage tanks, reduce product evaporation and thus environment pollution.”

Klaipedos Nafta claims to operate one of the most up-to-date oil terminals in Europe, with the core activity to transship exported oil products from rail tank-cars into tankers, provide Lithuania with imported crude oil and oil products which are shipped to Klaipеda port by tankers.

“Last week you informed the Vilnius Stock Exchange that your profit rose 57 percent in the first half of this year due increased sales and dropped intermediaries. Net income rose to LTL 27.7 million ($ 11.4 million) from LTL 17.6 million for the first half of 2010. These are impressive figures?”

“Yes we can say a great job done through the first half of 2011. Increase of revenues during the first half of 2011 was influenced by significant factors such as successful functioning of the business model - operation without intermediaries, and after termination of a non transparent cooperation with UAB „Naftos grupe“ the Company gained about LTL 5 million (EUR 1,4 million). Additional earnings were achieved by applying increased transhipment tariffs; plus an implemented structural reorganization in the commercial sphere which added LTL 4 million (EUR 1,2 million) earnings from additional services rendered to the clients as well as successful sales in June of oil products recovered from bilge waters that brought LTL 5,7 million (EUR 1,7 million).” 

“Your Lithuanian Government and President say they are ready to build a floating LNG (liquefied natural gas) terminal close to the Klaipeda port by 2014 to cut dependence on Russian gas and obtain access to the gas spot market. But I understand that the Latvians and the other Baltic neighbours are not all that convinced and will potentially decline to cooperate on this?”

“This question should be addressed to Lithuania Government and President but the main purpose to build LNG terminal in Lithuania’s security of supply which means we’re thinking of local terminal to cover Lithuania needs.”

“Your Klaipedos Nafta is in charge of the LNG terminal project. Last week you signed an agreement with Fluor Corporation , the largest publicly traded U.S. engineering company, as lead advisor on the planned terminal. You said that they will take over the project's management from July, expected to prepare the technical development plan and assist in selecting technologies, as well as working out a business plan for the terminal. The contract (so far undisclosed) with Fluor covers a period up to 2014, when you expect the terminal to come online. Please tell me more about the size and extent of this contract with Fluor and what they are supposed to accomplish?”

“Our selected lead adviser Fluor will cover financial, environmental, risk&safety, engineering and project management advice, as well as election of main parameters and support in negotiations to acquire FSRU, EPC contract. The LNG supply will be at their responsibility as well. As you see from activities listed above, Fluor will lead us through the whole project implementation period, i.e. 4 years. The contract price with them is EUR 9,229 million (excluding VAT).”

“You’ve also said in an email that Klaipedos Nafta plans the terminal to have a capacity of 2-3 billion cubic meters of gas per year, and that it will cost some EUR 200-300 million to build. Can you elucidate more on these figures? Maybe also exemplify a bit on how many gas tankers (ships) that will represent per year, etc.? And what about the environmental risks, pollution etc. having the LNG terminal located so close to Klaipeda city?”

“The main parameters are so far preliminary, so this is not the time to speculate. In 3-4 months, with Fluor advice, we will determine the main parameters and then we will have a vision of the business plan. Environmental impact assessment will determine any existing environmental risk, pollution and other risks. It is planned to have EIA report ready by the end of 2012. At the first glance it shouldn’t be a negative risk. There are several examples in the world where terminals are located very close to a city, i.e. Barcelona (Enagas).”

“The Government of Lithuania last week gave the projected LNG terminal the status of national importance, and the Cabinet approved the implementation plan, that will provide for speedier procedures  of all the institutions involved in the project. This will force other departments to be more active in solving the issues related to land plots, EIA assessment and the involvement of the sea port in the project. The decision came after President Dalia Grybauskaite earlier had criticised the slow pace of the project. Does this represent lack of trust in Klaipedos Nafta’s handling of the project? What else can you say about your cooperation with the Government and the President?”

“We have to do pre-work to enter the more visible movement of the project implementation. I mean, there are lots of procedures and research to be done before engineering and EPC contracting can start, for example. SEIA, development plan, territory planning, marine research, EIA etc. have already been started. We are in close cooperation with the President, Government and other related institutions as we have at hand an ambitious national importance project.”

“How do you see the future for Lithuania’s energy supplies on the backdrop of the above? Do we really need a new nuclear power station, or will the LNG terminal and other sources be sufficient enough for this country by 2020?”

“It’s not our competence to comment on national energy strategy.”

Principle for the planned LNG terminal in Klaipeda

An FSRU (floating storage and re-gasification unit) will be moored to a pier (jetty) and every
arriving LNG carrier will be moored to the FSRU, side by side.

WITH BOTH OIL AND LNG IN KLAIPĖDA:

Environmental risks?

The Kiaules Nugara (Pig’s back) island in the southern part of the Klaipeda port, at the border between the port and the Curonian Lagoon (to the left in the above illustration) is the most likely place to build Lithuania’s planned LNG terminal. This means that it will regularly sail large LNG tankers through the narrow strait between Klaipeda city and Neringa (which is now designated as one of the country’s national parks). How risky can it be to get a gas terminal and such a heavy sea traffic close to the big city that Klaipeda after all is? What about the explosion and fire risk? What about emissions and other forms of pollution? Is the water, beaches and fisheries in the Curonian Lagoon at risk? May Neringa and Klaipeda city be at risk?

There are currently 235 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers in operation worldwide. New LNG tankers have an average capacity of three billion cubic feet, costing approximately EUR 180 million each. LNG tankers differ from traditional oil tankers in that their cargo, liquefied natural gas, must be cooled to extremely low temperatures (-160°C) and has slightly different characteristics than oil (including a higher propensity to burn). LNG tankers might be dangerous for environments and communities claims a new movie and web page: http://timrileylaw.com/LNG_TANKERS.htm

Principle for the planned LNG terminal in Klaipeda

An FSRU (floating storage and re-gasification unit) will be moored to a pier (jetty) and every
arriving LNG carrier will be moored to the FSRU, side by side.

Klaipeda port area is now very idyllic. Klaipedos Nafta's oil tanks (left in above photo) have certainly somehow changed this picture over the latest years, but that will be trifles in comparison to the situation that will be applicable when the LNG  terminal at the inner end of the strait is completed in 2014. Let's just hope that all possible precautions are taken, and that  neither LNG, oil, nor the tankers carrying the gas and oil will have negative or risky effects for Klaipeda,  the sea or the beautiful, surrounding landscapes.

Aage Myhre, Editor-in-Chief

KLAIPĖDA FREE ECONOMIC ZONE:

A magnet for international companies

The Klaipėda Free Economic Zone (Klaipėda FEZ) was established in 1996 and opened officially in 2002. FEZ offers tax incentives to qualified investors that invest at least 1 million euros. In 2008, due to overcrowding the zone was expanded from 205 hectares (510 acres) to 412 hectares (1,020 acres) of developed land. As of March 2008, before expansion, FEZ had 22 investors: seven were operating, one just finished construction, six were under construction, and others in development stage. Web page: www.fez.lt E-Mail: info@fez.lt

The Klaipeda Free Economic Zone (FEZ) was the first and is still the only fully functioning free economic zone in Lithuania. The two companies that first started operations in the zone was the Japanese company Yazaki Wiring Technologies Lietuva, and the Danish company A.Espersen A/S, which opened their fish processing factory here in January 2003. FEZ was established to provide favourable conditions for the development of business activities by offering a prepared industrial site with a ready physical and juridical infrastructure, support services and tax incentives.

The 412 hectares area is located in a strategic position, close to the port of Klaipėda and with well developed connections to rail and road. Palanga International Airport is located only 30 km from the FEZ.

The Klaipėda FEZ has signed agreements with 20 foreign and Lithuanian capital firms, of which 16 are already operating. Since its inception, there has been invested more than LTL 792 million and created more than 1.000 jobs in the zone. The Klaipeda FEZ is recognized an ‘importance for the state project’.

During the last eight years, approximately 400 million Euros has been invested here. Business is carried on here by 16 companies from countries of Western Europe, Asia, and Scandinavia. Another four companies have already commenced construction or design works.

The Klaipėda FEZ has been recognised as an economic project of state importance. Such status of the zone ensures a favourable attitude of authorities in solving any issues that may arise.

In 2010 the Klaipėda Free Economic Zone took part in a world ranking for free economic zones, organised by the “FDI Magazine” belonging to the “Financial Times” group of publications. Out of 700 world free economic zones, which participated, the Klaipėda FEZ took 20th place. In the category ‘facilities’ the zone took 5th place.

The first in Lithuania
Klaipeda Free Economic Zone is the first and leading free economic zone in Lithuania. The advantages of setting up a business here became especially apparent after Lithuania joined the European Union in 2004. Based within the security of doing business within the EU it provides an excellent point from which to explore the vast Eastern, Western, Scandinavian and Russian markets.

Tax incentives
Companies investing in the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone will have considerable benefits in terms of no or reduced profit tax, no tax on dividends for foreign investors and no real estate taxes. These tax incentives in the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone are regarded as state aid for regional development, and therefore comply with European Union regulations.
• 6 years’ exemption from corporate income tax following made investment and 50% discount for the following 10 years –for companies that have invested more than €1 million
• No real estate taxes
• No taxes on dividends paid on foreign investments

Management
The Klaipėda FEZ is managed by a separate company that provides clients with all the necessary services in order to make the process of setting up easier and faster. The company provides the following services:

– consultations on establishing and registering enterprises and setting up businesses in the zone; 
– issues permits for activities in the zone; 
– informs about EU structural support opportunities for the client’s investment projects
– helps the clients’ construction and other project vs. authorities
– provides temporary start-up offices and services
– provides contacts to reliable and verified service providers and contractors.

Director Eimantas Kiudulas of the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone (FEZ).

How to become a Klaipėda FEZ enterprise? 
• Contact the FEZ management company by e-mail at marketing@fez.lt  or by phone at +370 46 312163. Complete the investor’s questionnaire at www.fez.lt. 
• Introduce your investment project, agree on the terms and conditions of doing business in the zone and sign an agreement with the Klaipėda FEZ Management Company. 
• Obtain a permit for activity in the zone from the zone management company. 
• Register a zone enterprise in the register of enterprises. 
• Take on a sublease from the FEZ management company for a land plot or lease premises for doing business in the zone. 
• Present to the tax administrator an auditor’s report, proving the amount of capital investment as prescribed by the law.

Current companies established in the zone
Klaipeda FEZ has signed agreements with 20 companies, of which 16 are operating. Their activities cover production of plastic pellets, logistics and storage, bio-diesel, electronics, appliances, architectural glass, steel constructions and a range of services. 

Four new companies are now preparing their business activities in the zone:
Fortum, Heidelberg Cement, AB Ship and Nordetanolis.

Currently based in the Klaipeda FEZ are the following companies:

 
Western Shipyard’s General Director Arnoldas Šileika started to work as foreman
in the yard 22 years ago, when it still was under Soviet rule. He has been head of this
huge company since 2001, leading the transformation from Soviet times and thinking.

Western Shipyard’s General Director Arnoldas Šileika interviewed by Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

I've been here before. I recall this as I pass through the guard building and the strict access control point that is the entrance to this huge shipyard furthest to the west in the Klaipeda port area. And well within the shipbuilding area, memories start flowing. I'm starting to remember details from my visit here 20 years ago, when the shipyard still was very 'semi-Soviet'.

I see the tremendously long, Soviet-like buildings, and walk along the one that is supposed to be the administrative headquarter. I finally get to the building’s end, closest to the sea, with a feeling of having gone back in time. But this feeling gradually fades as I get inside, climb the stairs to the 4th floor and walk into the corridors which are now colourful and nicely renovated, with pictures of new, modern ships and platforms on the walls. The pictures of Lenin and other communist symbols have miraculously disappeared since my last visit…

The secretaries in front of the general director's office still sit in the same reception room as by then. But now the dark, gloomy desktops are replaced with light, modern furniture, and the Soviet weightlifter-ladies have been replaced with beautiful and inviting young women, even speaking English very nicely…

And, believe it or not, the door to the general director's office is wide open! This time, there is no secretary humbly approaching the boss in his highness’ fortress behind armoured doors to ask if he graciously could accept to receive the visitor. No, now it’s the boss himself who comes smilingly out of the huge director-room, with an outstretched hand and a jovial 'welcome to our Western Shipyard! "

Hmm ... Times have obviously changed...

Western Shipyard started operations in 1969. The plan was that 9.000 people would work here.

Arnold Šileika pulls me into his office and offers a seat at the conference table in front of his desk. The tables are as large as they were 20 years ago, but now in modern, bright design. He offers me coffee, and I accept. But then I come to think that the last time I got coffee here I was served a strange sweet-sour mixture of sugar, water and coffee grounds that were almost impossible to mix into the water no matter how vehemently I used the teaspoon. Hairs rise on the back of my neck just by the thought.

But, of course, what is now being placed in front of me is obviously produced by an Italian coffee machine, and the scent is unmistakably genuine freshly brewed aromatic coffee. 

My first question to the Director is related to the shipyard's history. 

History – from Soviet colossus to European greatness
And Arnold Šileika is willingly telling me that the history of AB ”Vakarų laivų gamykla“ (VLG) – the Western Shipyard – started in 1966, when the construction started for a specialized ship repair yard very much directed towards Soviet’s huge fishing fleet.  According to the project the yard would be the biggest and the most modern in Soviet’s northwestern region, also the biggest one in Klaipeda – with a 50 hectares territory, 3 km of quays, 100.000 square meters of production workshops and 9.000 employees.

The official opening of the Western Shipyard took place in 1969, and the first ship was put in a dock for repair that same summer 42 years ago.

The shipyard never became as big as forecasted, and in 1975 the company still had ‘only’ 2.600 employees repairing trawlers, refrigerators, plants, and fishing vessels.

After the downfall of the USSR, the huge fishing fleet became a burden for Lithuania. Ships were sold or written down to scrap. In 1993 the company restructured its activity and turned to repair of vessels from Western countries. Since then the company has been constantly strengthening its position in the markets, first of all in Western Europe. 

AB "Vakarų laivų gamykla" was bought and privatized by the Estonian BLRT Grupp Concern in 2001. In 2003 the company was reorganized into the AB "Vakarų laivų gamykla" group with 23 companies within the activity fields of ship repair and modification, ship building, stevedoring and storage services, metal construction production, metal processing, hot galvanization, transport services, procurement, and more. 

 In 2010, Danish Odense Steel Shipyard sold its Baltijos Shiprepar yeard in Klaipeda to the BLRT Group, giving the group additional capacities, enlarging BLRT’s technical and logistical levels in developing shipbuilding in Lithuania and Estonia.

In 2007, Western Shipyard and the Norwegian company “Fiskerstrand Verft” established the joint company ”Fiskerstrand BLRT“ to deal with ship building, marketing, project management and more. The shipyard has since built several vessels for Fiskerstrand , together right now in the process of completing the construction of world's largest gas-powered ferry – for 600 passengers and 242 cars – for the Norwegian company Fjord1, one of the Norway's largest transport groups operating 63 car ferries, more than 500 busses and goods vehicles. This is one of the largest shipbuilding projects ever in Lithuania, with a total value of LTL 163.6 million (EUR 47,3 million).

Today - dramatic lack of workforce in Lithuania
Arnold Šileika has been working in the Western Shipyard since 1989, first as foreman, then as the company’s General Director for the last ten years. The company has now 2.000 employees, plus 1.000 more working on the territory for the shipyard on contract basis, totally 3.000 persons.

"You have, in other words, seen the whole transition from having been Soviet-ruled to becoming a Western company," I state.

And the director responds, still just as open and straight forward, that the biggest challenge has been to get workers to change their mentality from eastern to western ways of thinking.

"But now, today, the biggest challenge is actually to find people who want to work here," he says. "This despite the fact that we pay almost twice as high wages as what the labour market in Lithuania in general offers. We actually have had to start to bring in workers from Bulgaria and Romania to fulfill our obligations," he says.

Great importance for Klaipeda and Lithuania
The meeting with Arnold Šileika is nearing its end, and he invites me for a drive around the area that the shipyard  disposes. The area is simply too big to cover on foot...

Aha, I think, now it’s probably soon time to again experience an authentic Soviet, black Volga with plush seats and curtains for the windows. The memories from 20 years ago have not let go yet, and I foresee a drive among rusting,  sinking ship  wrecks  and a yard area full of old iron scrap, oil spills, creaking quay cranes and thousands of workers who are yelling at each other under the supervision of foremen who would make even the most hardened Soviet colonels to  look bleak.

The director's car is a new Lexus, hybrid version ... The yard is dry, clean and tidy. The docked or moored vessels are all freshly painted and beautiful, almost exclusively from Western European countries. Nobody is yelling...

It finally begins to dawn on me that the Soviet times are over. That Lithuania has become a country with modern industry and service companies fully on a par with western countries.

The director's calm and professional voice reinforces this impression as he drives me around, explaining that my home country Norway is the most important partner for his Western Shipyard, but that he also supplies ships and other equipment to Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Russia. He says that the yard each year  builds 10-12 vessels for these countries - ferries, tugboats, fishing and cargo vessels, plus boats and structures for  offshore projects, and much more. He mentions especially a truly unique project that the yard completed two years ago; to build the jackup vessel Windlift 1 for an offshore windmill park. This was the largest project ever throughout the history of the Western Shipyard.

The shipyard also repairs different kinds of vessels, 100-120 every year.

The Jackup vessel Windlift I, completed in 2009, is the largest project ever throughout the history of Western Shipyard.

The General Director also tells me that Western Shipyard is the largest company in Klaipeda, also one of Lithuania's  largest. He says that 90% of what the shipyard produces is exported, and that the company therefore is very important for the country’s trade balance and more. That also Klaipeda city enjoys very good benefits from the yard, that many families have their incomes from here, and that numerous shipyard partners in the west come here and leave important money in hotels, restaurants and shops.

“We are ready to accept many more contracts from Europe and other continents within vessel building or repairs. We can guarantee that we are competitive pricewise and that our quality is very high,” concludes General Director Arnold Šileika of Klaipeda’s Western Shipyard as he parks his Lexus just behind my car to see me off.

And I believe him. My initial expectation of finding a small Soviet spot here is gone. The director has convinced me that the company I now leave behind me is top modern, fully on par with shipyards in USA, Asia or Europe…

Western Shipyard’s General Director Arnold Šileika has reason to be proud of his company’s accomplishments.

KLAIPĖDA MAYOR:

Klaipėda aims to become
an Eastern European
avant-garde city

Mayor of Klaipeda, Vytautas Grubliauskas

The Mayor of Klaipeda interviewed by Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com

Congratulations with the post as Mayor of Klaipeda! Anything you can share with our readers about the municipal and mayor elections where the outcome was that you took over Klaipeda's main chair this spring?

Thank you. Klaipėda was always a stable and trustful city. Recent elections proved that those adjectives are true. Democratic transition in Kaunas and Vilnius was indecisive until last night or even during the mayoral voting session. Meanwhile here in Klaipeda a prospective coalition started work planning for a 4 year term already after the municipal election night. This stability brings a lot more clarity for citizens and administration.

What can you tell our readers about today's situation and the outlooks for the economy of Klaipeda?

Recession in Klaipeda lasted much shorter than in other cities. Thus it's still present in real estate sector, we bounced quickly back in other sectors. We kept quite stable consumer demand due to Klaipeda's large workforce share (appr. 40%) employed in harbour related activities that hardly experienced recession. Positive economical outlook for local companies continued city economy running in difficult times. For future, I see much unused capacity in harbour and free economical zone activities that are already best performers in whole Baltics. On the other hand I watch with uncertainty demographic decline as most difficult macroeconomic challenge for municipal budget and consumer demand. We have to cope with a shrinking city scenario.

Klaipedos Nafta is in the process of building the first LNG import terminal on the Eastern Baltic coast, for use in Lithuania and potentially for export to its Baltic region neighbours.  Lithuania intends to become one of the first European countries to implement the European Union's Third Package of energy market reforms, which would result in the creation of a free and open energy market similar to what now exists in the U.S.  The development of the Klaipeda LNG terminal is said to be a critical component in the plan to open the energy markets in the Baltic region. What can you say about these plans?

Klaipėda is a logistical gateway for East-West corridor, therefore our participation is self-evident. The planned LNG terminal has become a national geopolitical priority and our city will help to install it. Meanwhile as a citizen and mayor I understand the potential hazards. Although we would like to apply so called NIMBY rule (‘Not In My Back Yard’) for necessary but unwanted infrastructural objects, Klaipėda will welcome this terminal and get full package of security precautions and decent compensation for it. That’s the demand from the city.

There have been plans to create ‘a waterfront oasis’ at the territory that till now has been part of Klaipeda’s port area, on both sides of the river Dane estuary. The project was showing a better connection between Klaipeda Old Town, the cruise ship port and the Baltic Sea – for multifunctional purposes with shops, offices, apartments and green outdoor areas in direct contact with the sea. What is the stage of this project now?

Eventual projects have a symbolic meaning. They are first public access points to lagoon in former access forbidden harbour. At the same time, we hope this brownfield investment will encourage other infill developments. Yet, both waterfront projects are in post recession phase with real estate sector specific issues. The supply of such quality locations is unique in Klaipėda, therefore I hope these projects will jumpstart very soon. This will introduce totally new centrality for Klaipėda.

“Klaipeda faces difficulties in attracting cruise vessels, loses to Riga and Tallinn.” These have been headlines in local newspapers this spring. Is that true and what can in case you and the Klaipeda port authorities do about it?

Yes indeed, there is a small decline for cruise vessels this year. But very proactive discount schemes, introduced by Ministry of Transport in early winter, allow me to interpret this decline more as a prolonged recession in cruise business rather than our wrong policy. At the same time, although Klaipėda is really striving to become Lithuanian Barcelona or Miami, our size and brand is weaker than neighboring capital cities Riga and Talinn.

“Lithuanian tourism sector is haunted by poor leadership.” This said a VilNews writer in an article recently (https://vilnews.com/?p=5217).Are you planning to do something about the situation, and to make the tourism sector in your region more organised and more attractive for visitors?

Already during my first month as a mayor I organized meeting with mayors of 6 neighbour regions in order to discuss common strategy to revive tourism in Western Lithuania. The first and foremost goal is to bring new flight directions to Palanga-Klaipėda airport. We also agreed to brand the region as one unit instead of fragmented marketing. Already this summer we bring all summer events in Klaipėda under one unified advertisement campaign.

A new, extended activity field for our VilNews e-magazine, is to invite groups of people with some sort of interest in Lithuania to travel here on so-called theme-tours. We are in the process of preparing a trip for a group with interest in traditional Lithuanian food (https://vilnews.com/?p=5176), another one for people with interest in the very interesting connections between India and Lithuania (https://vilnews.com/?p=4425) , and a third one for readers of Ruta Sepetys’ bestselling novel “Between shades of gray” (https://vilnews.com/?p=2197) to come here and see and learn more about the Siberia deportations from Lithuania during WWII. Would you and the Klaipeda Municipality be interested in a cooperation?

Of course, any idea is worth to be supported. As a jazz singer I am most fond of jazz tours, which from time to time I could even guide myself. Lithuania and Klaipėda has much to offer.

One of the biggest problems that Lithuania faces today is violence against women. Statistics claims that 63% of all women in Lithuania suffered from physical and/or psychological violence, whereas world average is 33%. I have been told that Klaipeda municipality wants to be a pioneer-municipality in terms of focus on domestic violence and abuse of women. Your city has for years had a women's shelter for women, but has now taken a huge step forward and is already well underway with the planning of what is probably going to be Lithuania's most modern and advanced crisis centre for women, expected ready built in early 2012 (ref. https://vilnews.com/?p=3571). How do you see that Klaipeda can be a good example for other Lithuanian municipalities with regards to this very severe problem?

Thanks to funds from Espersen Foundation, Klaipėda becomes a pioneer in this social blind spot. What we will see with rise of this building is not a problem solution, only a shelter for severe societal problems. Although the shelter is extremely needed, Klaipėda will never be an example if violence will persist. Therefore I see immediate need for social evolution towards extermination of violence against women in general. For that we need awareness campaigns and education from early school age. Only with such package of measures I will be able to call Klaipėda as good example for other municipalities.

The Klaipeda city court has acquitted a group of ‘history enthusiasts’ for using posters with swastikas on them during the Independence Day parade on 16 February in Klaipeda.  The court on 18 May ruled to terminate the administrative case against the four youth on grounds that the Swastikas used on the posters were photographs of an archaeological finding in Lithuania and initially the swastika was the sign of the sun. “These are not Nazi symbols, but valuable symbols of the Baltic culture. The symbols of our forefathers, which were taken away, fabricated and crippled by other nations. It is not fascism, but the architecture of the universe that they represent,” Milvydas Jusakauskas, the defence counsel’s witness from Vilnius said after the court hearing. What are your comments to this?

Comments on court decisions exert political pressure and I will avoid it. But despite this legal case, I want to cheer readers of “VilNews” that Klaipėda has not had any serious racially or ethnically biased criminal actions towards non-Lithuanian guests for years. Nor do I have information about neo-nazis or gangs operating in town. On opposite, Klaipėda has very peaceful community life.

Lawmakers in Lithuania's Committee on Legal Affairs, under the leadership of MP Petras Gražulis, voted recently to make even more stringent censorship legislation against homosexuals in this country, saying that they should be able to fine people for the "propagation of homosexual relations" in public. This has earned condemnation from EU groups who say this is just another step in furthering an ultra conservative agenda in Lithuania. How gay hostile can Lithuania become before someone starts appealing to normal common sense?

Opposite to any former mayors of Vilnius and Petras Gražulis himself, Klaipėda, and I personally, welcomes gay prides and gay communities. The whole idea of censorship is based on ridiculous logics, as psychologist O. Tapinas said once correctly “if you observe birds for a while you will become bird yourself”. I think we are talking about so called “10% society” and the rest 90% can’t be “persuaded” into homosexuality. Denial will only increase frustration in society.

I have heard said that if Lithuania’s politicians and bureaucrats were half as interested in the country they are supposed to serve as in their own pockets, this would already have been a fine, prosperous country. Fraud, corruption, briberies, lack of teamwork and transparency have all too often become terms used while describing the way Lithuania is managed. Do you have any clean-up plans ready?

Clear bureaucratic rules, short deadlines, e-government, well managed outsourced functions and motivated workforce is a key to more transparent municipal services. I see lots of space for improvement in Klaipėda. Biggest expectations I have towards introduction of electronic tender system and HR department.

Finally, please let our huge, international VilNews readership know what are your visions and plans for Klaipeda and the Baltic Sea region over the years to come?

I will strive for Klaipėda to become an Eastern European avant-garde city in life quality and culture. For many years we had wrong priorities. Now it is time for pure living and jazzy souls.

Greeting to sister cities by mayor of Klaipėda Vytautas Grubliauskas.