Lithuanian parliament votes to allow government to borrow as much as needed to fight coronavirus

The Lithuanian parliament voted on Tuesday to the raise borrowing limit by 4.5 billion euros, and to allow the government to borrow over the limit to fight effects of the coronavirus.

In its submission to the parliament, the government said it expects tax income in the 50 billion euro economy to be at least 20%, or 4.2 billion euros, less than previously expected due to effects of the virus.

The ministry said on Tuesday it saw the economy contracting between 1.3% and 2.8% in 2020. Its latest forecast, from September, was for growth of 2.4%. (Reporting By Andrius Sytas, editing by Johan Ahlander)