Lithuanian parliament concludes extended spring session

The Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, concluded its extended spring session on Tuesday with a closing anthem, as reported by LRT and BNS.

Speaker Juozas Olekas, a Social Democrat, thanked lawmakers for their work, noting that the session included nearly 60 meetings and the adoption of around 400 legal acts, including nearly 300 laws. He described it as an “intensive period” and emphasised the importance of the decisions for the people of Lithuania.

The extension was necessary due to the formation of a new government led by Social Democratic Party leader Mindaugas Sinkevičius. The process was completed on Tuesday after the approval of the government’s programme and the swearing-in of the Cabinet.

During the session, lawmakers passed key legislation, including the establishment of the Kapčiamiestis polygon in the Lazdijai district, the extension of national sanctions against Russian and Belarusian citizens, and authorisation for the military to deploy troops to the Strait of Hormuz. They also prioritised public healthcare institutions in funding, relaxed requirements for basic education, and increased transparency in municipal procurement. Additionally, the threshold for defence procurement contracts requiring local industry collaboration was raised fourfold.

A significant focus was the reform of the governance of Lithuania’s national broadcaster, LRT, with a new version of the LRT law adopted. This sparked a protest in Vilnius’ Cathedral Square, drawing thousands over concerns about freedom of speech.

The Seimas also made several high-level appointments, including judges to the Constitutional Court (Artūras Drigotas and Tomas Davulis), the head of the Chief Official Ethics Commission (Jolanta Bernotaitė), the intelligence oversight controller (Vytautas Valentinavičius), the children’s rights protection controller (Alina Jakavonienė), the equal opportunities controller (Birutė Sabatauskaitė), and the parliamentary ombudsman (Aleksandras Radčenkas).

Lawmakers also voted on lifting legal immunity for former prime ministers Saulius Skvernelis and Gintautas Paluckas. During the session, Giedrimas Jeglinskas resigned from his parliamentary seat, replaced by Vilija Targamadzė, while Angelė Jakavonytė took over from Kazys Starkevičius. The sudden death of liberal MP Jevgenijus Šuklinas in late May led to a by-election scheduled for November 8 in the Nalšia North constituency.

The spring session officially runs from March 10 to June 30 but can be extended. The autumn session will begin on September 10.