Vilnius City Hall will stop accepting written applications in Russian, - LRT
The Vilnius City Council will no longer accept written applications, complaints, or other correspondence in Russian. The new rules were introduced as part of a policy to strengthen the status of the official language and promote the integration of foreigners.
According to Censor.NET, LRT reports this.
Russian has been removed from official services
From now on, information in Russian and other languages of countries that are not members of the European Union will be provided only orally and only if the relevant employee is fluent in that language.
In addition, Russian has been removed from the Vilnius City Council’s official website and from the electronic queue management system.
"This spring, Vilnius decided to promote the use of the official language and is consistently working toward its goals," said Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.
At the same time, Lithuanian language courses are being expanded
According to the mayor, in just a few months, the city has already enrolled more than a thousand foreigners in language courses, and the number of preschool classes taught in Russian has decreased by 40%.
This year, the Vilnius city government has allocated an additional 300,000 euros for free Lithuanian language courses and distance learning. Language clubs will open in various districts of the capital this fall, and by the end of the year, the city plans to launch an online platform for foreigners to study Lithuanian on their own.
