Heated clashes erupt in Lithuanian parliament over public broadcaster reforms
A meeting of Lithuania’s parliamentary Culture Committee descended into heated exchanges on Wednesday as lawmakers debated recommendations from the Venice Commission regarding reforms to the governance of national broadcaster LRT, LRT reports.
Committee chairman Kęstutis Vilkauskas, a Social Democrat, called a technical pause after clashes broke out when he refused to grant the floor to MEP Dainius Žalimas, a former Venice Commission member. Vilkauskas argued that Žalimas had already presented his position in previous sessions and cited procedural rules allowing the chair to determine speaking order.
Žalimas, participating remotely, accused Vilkauskas of overstepping his authority: “You are violating the law. The committee chairman is first among equals, not some superior officer or collective farm chairman. You’re acting like a collective farm chairman—that’s my opinion.”
Vilkauskas interrupted him, saying: “Respected Mr. Žalimas, please do not insult.”
Opposition lawmakers, including Democrat Rima Baškienė, protested that the committee was being denied a full discussion of the Venice Commission’s findings. “Are we not allowed to express our views on the Commission’s position? Will we lack arguments as a committee? Are we just supposed to listen to your statements and call it a day?” Baškienė asked, before being reprimanded by Vilkauskas for “disrupting order.”
Conservative committee deputy Vytautas Juozapatis accused Vilkauskas of “acting like a dictator,” while fellow conservative Vytautas Kernagis warned that opposition members could “physically disrupt” the meeting if denied a voice. “We can speak as long as we want—you can’t silence us,” Kernagis said.
After a five-minute recess, the committee proceeded without further debate on the Venice Commission’s recommendations, moving instead to discuss new proposals for LRT’s legal framework. The reforms concern governance changes at the national broadcaster, which had previously drawn scrutiny from the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional law.