Virginijus Sinkevičius: foreign ministry not part of coalition talks

Coalition negotiations are ongoing, with social democratic leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius stating that progress has been made but no final agreement is yet in place, LRT reports.

The second round of talks involved only the social democrats and the Democrats “For Lithuania” party. A meeting of all three potential coalition partners had taken place earlier in Brussels, though it was not officially labelled as negotiations.

Sinkevičius said the parties had agreed on priority policy areas and that the content of a coalition agreement was being finalised. He added that the distribution of ministerial portfolios had also been discussed in principle, with the current plan being that the “valstiečiai” (rural) party would retain control of the Justice and Economy and Innovation ministries, while the Democrats would receive three ministries.

However, Virginijus Sinkevičius, acting leader of the Democrats, clarified that the foreign ministry was not on the negotiating table. “It simply wasn’t part of the discussions. This is a key issue because it’s one of the ministries that must be coordinated with the presidential institution,” he said.

Sinkevičius also noted that the social democrats’ leader had not yet decided whether to take the prime minister’s position, calling this an unresolved question that would need to be addressed before finalising ministerial appointments.

Before the latest talks, the Democrats had sought four ministries, but this was opposed by both the social democrats and the rural party. In the previous coalition formed after the 2024 Seimas elections, the Democrats held the speaker’s post and two ministries.