Lithuanian parliament committee proposes shorter terms and competitive selection for national broadcaster’s council

The Lithuanian parliament’s Culture Committee has proposed reducing the term length for members of the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) council from six to four years and introducing mandatory competitive selection, LRT reports.

During a Wednesday session, the committee reviewed over 20 of nearly 100 proposed amendments to the LRT law, aimed at improving governance of the public broadcaster. Discussions will continue on Friday after an emergency meeting on Monday addressed remarks from the Seimas Legal Department and around 10 parliamentary proposals.

Liberal MP Simonas Kairys’ suggestion to shorten council members’ terms to four years was approved, arguing that no other institution has six-year terms. The committee also rejected a proposal to reduce the council’s size to 11 members, instead supporting an increase from 12 to 15.

Conservative Vytautas Juozapaitis criticised the expansion, stating that larger groups often struggle with accountability, leading to either overly risky or passive decisions.

Most committee members opposed reducing the number of council members appointed by the president and parliament, each of which currently selects four of the 12 members. Some MPs had proposed halving these appointments. Kairys noted he would prefer no presidential or parliamentary appointees but acknowledged this was impractical.

The committee agreed that a representative from the National Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations should join the council, replacing the Tripartite Council proposed in earlier drafts. It also mandated competitive selection for council members, who are currently submitted directly to the Seimas for approval.

The latest draft defines LRT’s mission, establishes a new governing body (a board), expands the council to 15 members, and sets requirements for council candidates while restricting involvement from other media representatives in LRT content creation. The bill also revises grounds for dismissing the director-general before their term ends.

The proposed changes have faced criticism from LRT’s administration, some journalists, and academics.