LRT amendments draw scrutiny from European Commission

Amendments to Lithuania’s Law on the National Radio and Television (LRT) are under close scrutiny by the European Commission, which warns that any changes must comply with the European Media Freedom Act.

The Commission has reviewed recommendations from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission and emphasised the need to uphold the Act’s provisions regarding public service media.

The proposed amendments, advanced by the ruling parliamentary majority, have drawn criticism from the European Parliament, which adopted a resolution in January supporting LRT and opposing changes to the dismissal procedure for the public broadcaster’s director-general.

Among the contested proposals is a provision for secret voting on the appointment and dismissal of LRT’s director-general, as well as grounds for dismissal based on a vote of no confidence or failure to approve the annual activity report. The initial draft faced strong opposition from journalists and international organisations.

European Commissioner for Democracy and Rule of Law Michael McGrath contacted then-Culture Minister Vaida Aleknavičienė in 2025 regarding the legislative process, with his representative stating that any amendments must align with the European Media Freedom Act.

Six Lithuanian MEPs—Dainius Žalimas, Petras Auštrevičius, Rasa Juknevičienė, Liudas Mažylis, Paulius Saudargas and Virginijus Sinkevičius—submitted two separate inquiries to the European Commission regarding attempts to amend the LRT Law. The Commission has requested information from Lithuanian authorities on the implementation of the European Media Freedom Act.

In its latest response, the Commission said it continues to monitor the legislative process and has reviewed the Venice Commission’s opinion, which questions the decision to freeze LRT’s budget and calls for preserving the requirement of a qualified majority vote for dismissing the director-general, along with clear and objective dismissal criteria.

The amendments, which include the creation of a board and changes to the Council’s composition, are set to return to the Seimas for debate on 7 April 2026.