Lithuania holds referendum on land sale to foreigners

When it entered the EU in 2004, Lithuania obtained a transition period during which nationals from other EU member states could not buy farmland in the country. This exemption to the principle of free movement of capital came to an end in May. But two political parties that are opposed to this opening - the Lithuanian Nationalist Union and the Union of Greens and Farmers - gathered enough signatures (over 300,000, ie 10% of the population) for the authorities to…