Lithuanian president considers candidates to replace Jucevičius on LRT council

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda is evaluating several candidates to fill the vacancy on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) council left by Giedrius Jucevičius, who resigned in April, LRT reports.

“Council members cannot withstand the pressure. It so happened that we need to look for a new council member—I have several candidates. There’s no point in discussing them until I’ve made a choice. When I decide, I will announce it,” Nausėda told journalists in Vilnius on Tuesday.

The president, along with parliament and public organisations, each appoints four members to the LRT council. After Jucevičius announced his resignation in mid-April, Nausėda stated he intended to appoint a politically unaffiliated replacement. Jucevičius’s term was set to last until May 12, 2030.

His comments came as the Seimas Culture Committee finalised its review of proposed amendments to the public broadcaster’s law. The committee is expected to approve its conclusions this week after considering roughly 150 parliamentary proposals, 15 submissions from organisations and institutions, and over 40 legal observations from the Seimas Law Department.

Key changes under discussion include shortening council members’ terms from six to four years, introducing specific competency requirements for candidates, and establishing a selection process. The committee rejected proposals to require LRT to sign a public service contract with the government and to restrict media representatives from participating in content creation.

The amended law also introduces a new supervisory board for LRT, alters the council’s composition, and sets grounds for the early dismissal of the director general. The Venice Commission, which reviewed the draft, recommended further refinements, emphasising that changes to dismissal procedures should apply only to future appointees. Opposition lawmakers had pushed to delay the new dismissal rules until 2028, but the committee retained the original timeline, meaning they could affect the current director.

Protests have previously been held against the ruling coalition’s proposed amendments, which followed a failed attempt last December to fast-track simpler dismissal procedures for the director general.