Lithuanian ethics watchdog declines to investigate Širinskienė over committee meeting attendance

Lithuania’s parliamentary ethics watchdog has decided not to launch an investigation into MP Agnė Širinskienė after she attended a Culture Committee meeting while her mandatory Legal Affairs Committee was in session, LRT reports.

The decision follows a complaint filed by Social Democrat Indrė Kižienė, who argued that Širinskienė violated parliamentary rules by prioritising the Culture Committee over her assigned duties. According to the complaint, Širinskienė participated in the Culture Committee’s April 15 session—where she holds only advisory voting rights—during the same hours her Legal Affairs Committee, of which she is a full member, was convened.

Kižienė stated that such conduct “clearly does not meet the standards for fulfilling an MP’s duties” and raised “legitimate doubts about proper performance of obligations.”

In her response to the ethics watchdog, Širinskienė defended her choice, citing the importance of the cultural and media legislation under discussion. “Unlike Culture Minister V. Aleknavičienė, I understand the significance of culture and media to the state and do not spare my working time to improve the legal acts governing these areas,” she said.

The Culture Committee’s April 15 meeting focused on amendments to the law governing Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT, with discussions lasting the entire day.