The Republic of Cyprus is a constitutional presidential republic. Each president is elected for a five-year term. The president has a lot of power. Cyprus is the only member of the European Union that is governed by a presidential system of government. It is one of few countries (along with San Marino) to have had a democratically-elected communist government, in office from 2008 until 2013. Since 2013 governing party has been the Democratic Rally.
The European Union issued a warning in February 2019 that Cyprus, an EU member, was selling EU passports to Russian oligarchs. This would allow allow organised crime syndicates to get into the EU. In 2020 leaked documents revealed a range of former and current officials from Afghanistan, China, Dubai, Lebanon, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Vietnam who bought a Cypriot citizenship before a change of the law in July 2019. Cyprus and Turkey have been engaged in a dispute over the extent of their exclusive economic zones. It was apparently caused by the potential for oil and gas exploration in the area.
The Republic of Cyprus is divided into six districts: Nicosia, Famagusta, Kyrenia, Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos. These are not the same as those of Northern Cyprus.
Latvia
Latvia is a country in Northern Europe. The capital is Riga. It is one of the Baltic States, together with Estonia in the north and Lithuania in the south. Latvia's neighbours to the east are the countries Russia and Belarus. Latvia is split into four parts called Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale, and Latgale.
People from Latvia are called Latvians. They speak the Latvian language, which is a little like the Lithuanian language, though not close enough to be understood.
Latvia was settled by the Baltic tribes thousands of years ago. They mainly fished, hunted, and traded.
German traders and crusaders came to Latvia at the end of the 12th century. Latvians lost control of their homeland. Over the next 800 years, Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles, and Russians all invaded Latvia. Latvia finally became independent in 1918.
The Soviet Union invaded Latvia during World War II and killed or took away many of its people to Siberia and other places far away from their homes. The Soviet Union then invaded again and occupied Latvia until 1991, when the Soviet Union fell apart and Latvia became an independent country again.
In Copenhagen on 13 December 2002, Latvia and nine other countries were invited to join the European Union. On 20 September 2003, Latvians held an election to vote on joining. Two thirds of Latvians voted to join, and on 1 May 2004 Latvia became a member of the EU.
Latvia has been a NATO member since 29 March, 2004.
Lithuania
Lithuania is a country in Europe on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The country is a Baltic state. Lithuania is a member of the European Union, NATO, and several other organizations. About 2.7 million people live in the country. The national language is the Lithuanian language, which is spoken by around 3 million people. Vilnius is the capital and largest city.
The colors of the Lithuanian flag are yellow (at the top), for the sun, green (in the middle), for the fields, and red (at the bottom), for the blood of Lithuanians fighting for its independence.
Lithuania began to turn into a country in the 7th–9th centuries from Baltic nations group. The Balts, the ancestors of Lithuanians and Latvians, came to the area between Nemunas, Daugava rivers and the Baltic Sea, from a supposed original homeland of the Proto-Indo-European languages. Many scientists think they came there sometime in the 3rd millennium BC.
The traditional date of the beginning of the country is 1236 when the Lithuanians won the Battle of Šiauliai (Battle of Sun).
Lithuania (at that time - The Grand Duchy of Lithuania) made a Treaty with Poland in 1569. The country was taken over by the Russian Empire in 1795, ending the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It got back its independence on February 16, 1918. It was taken over by the Soviet Union on June 16, 1940, by Nazi Germany from 1941-1944 and again the Soviet Union from 1944-1990. Lithuania re-declared its independence on March 11, 1990. Currently, Lithuania is an independent, semi-presidential, democratic republic.
Lithuania has been a member of NATO and the European Union since 2004.
Lithuania is a semi presidential republic, that restored its independence and democracy in 1990. Since then, very important reforms were made and Lithuania is now declared as a democratic state that grants the human rights.
The Constitution that was adopted in 1992 declares that the leader of the country is the President, who must be elected to take office. The elections are held every 5 years. If the President breaks their oath, they can be forced to resign by the Parliament. The President also represents Lithuania abroad and is the commander-in-chief.
The legislative power of Lithuania is called the Seimas, or Parliament. There are 141 members of Seimas who are elected for 4-year-terms. Seimas passes the laws that must be executed by the government, that is formed in Seimas, and it must be accepted by the President. The Prime Minister is set and fired by the President.
The justice is under the power of the courts. The supreme court in Lithuania is the Constitutional Court.
Lithuania is divided into 10 counties, 60 municipalities and 500 elderates. The counties are:
The county governor rules the county. He or she must be appointed by the central government. Municipalities are governed by the Municipal Councils that are elected for 4 year terms. The head of a municipality is the mayor. The elderates are governed by the elders. The elders are appointed by the municipal councils.
Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe. Its neighbours are Poland in the southwest, Russia (Kaliningrad) in west, Latvia in north and Belarus in the east. Lithuania borders the Baltic Sea and 99 kilometres of its coast belong to Lithuania. The highest hill is Aukštojas (294 metres high), the largest lake is Drūkšiai Lake. 31% of the land is suitable for farms.
Lithuania is divided into 5 cultural regions according to their past and traditions:
Lithuania has a fast growing economy. It grew up to 7% in the first quarter of 2008.
GDP per capita, based on purchasing power parity is estimated to be $19,730 in 2008. The nominal GDP per capita is estimated to be $14,213 at the same year. According to these numbers, Lithuanian per capita GDP reaches only 61% of EU average. However, it is impressive that only in 8 years, since 2000 it grew up from 30% of EU average.
Emigration still creates a problem. According to the official data, emigration in 2006 was 30% lower than the previous year, with 3,483 people leaving in four months.
About 80% of people in Lithuania are Lithuanians. There are large national minorities:
Lithuanian is spoken by 82% of the people and it is the only official language. Polish is used mostly in Vilnius County where Polish politicians are elected to represent the Polish minority. The documents and street names must be in Lithuanian.
The biggest cities are Vilnius, 542,287 people, Kaunas, 358,107 people, and Klaipėda, 185,899 people.
The nursery schools and the kindergartens are the first-level education forms. However, they are not compulsory. The children start attending the primary school at age 7, where educational programs last for 4 years; then they must start attending secondary school (5th to 10th grades). After finishing 8th or 10th grade, the student can continue learning at the high school or choose courses at the vocational college. The students who finish the high school can join colleges and universities. Higher education is free for the students whose annual median of grades is 8 or higher. The others have to pay 500 Litas per semester at least.
The higher education schools are universities and colleges. The main universities are: