ministers

The Cabinet of Ministers led by Gintautas Paluckas has arrived in Ukraine, ELTA learnt from the prime minister’s adviser Justinas Argustas.

On Thursday, 12 December, the Parliament of Lithuania voted to approve the new Government’s programme and new ministers took oaths of office in the afternoon.

Prime Minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas plans to present nominations for justice and environment ministers to the president on Wednesday.

The Nemunas Dawn party has put forward one more nominee for the environment minister’s position after the previous candidate, Tomas Kovėra, changed his mind and refused the job.

Leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, Remigijus Žemaitaitis, has confirmed that Tomas Kovėra would be nominated to the position of the environment minister.

President Gitanas Nausėda has met with the majority of ministerial nominees to the new Government and Prime Minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas thinks the head of state had a good opinion about them.

The names of all ministerial nominees have been officially presented to President Gitanas Nausėda.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, President Gitanas Nausėda stated that he has a negative opinion about some ministers and reiterated that they should be replaced.

Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė disagrees with the presidency’s implications that some ministers in her Government should be replaced.

Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė on Friday nominated ministers of education and social security. The candidates will have to be approved by President Gitanas Nausėda.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has doubts about some of the center-right coalition's candidates for ministers, his spokesman said on Tuesday, but gave no names.

Candidate for Lithuania's prime minister Ingrida Simonyte has on Wednesday announced she's nominating Gabrielius Landsbergis, leader of the conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, for the position of foreign minister.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis says more than one ministers will be replaced in the Cabinet's reshuffle, which follows the return of powers to the new president, Gitanas Nauseda.

European Union foreign ministers threatened Russia with harsher sanctions over Ukraine on Tuesday, with some saying diplomacy was no longer enough to force Moscow to de-escalate the crisis after the downing of a Malaysia Airlines flight last week.