Lithuania’s top politicians to discuss constitutional ban on nuclear weapons
Lithuania’s top politicians will meet at the Presidential Palace on Thursday to discuss the constitutional provision banning the deployment of nuclear weapons in the country, BNS reports.
According to Gitanas Nausėda’s advisor Ridas Jasiulionis, the meeting will be attended by the leadership of the Seimas (parliament) and the government, as well as the heads of parliamentary factions. The president will not participate.
The discussion follows intensified debates over amending the constitution after Nausėda in May vetoed a law on the state port of Klaipėda, which would have allowed ships carrying nuclear weapons to enter Lithuanian territory if it did not contradict national security interests. The president argued the law violated the constitution.
Lithuania’s constitution currently prohibits the presence of weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on its territory.
Nausėda, Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas, and National Security and Defence Committee Chairman Rimantas Sinkevičius have not ruled out discussions on amending the constitution. Some opposition figures, including Conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas, have pledged support if the ruling coalition initiates changes. However, MPs from the “Nemuno aušra” and Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union factions have been more sceptical.
Social Democratic leader and prime ministerial candidate Mindaugas Sinkevičius has suggested simply removing the relevant constitutional article.
Amending the constitution requires two separate votes in the Seimas, with at least a three-month interval between them, and support from at least 94 out of 141 MPs.
Last year, then-Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė raised the possibility of constitutional changes if allies proposed concrete plans for deploying nuclear weapons or their components in Lithuania.
Discussions have gained momentum following French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal for a new European nuclear deterrence scheme, under which partner countries could temporarily host French strategic air forces with nuclear weapons. In early June, the Financial Times reported that the US is considering deploying nuclear weapons in several additional NATO countries in Europe. Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas has stated that Lithuania is not on the sidelines of these discussions, noting that US nuclear weapons could only be deployed in Lithuania during a crisis or wartime.