Coalition partners accuse Social Democrats of sidelining them on budget

Social Democrat coalition partners say they were not consulted while next year’s state budget was being prepared, and some remain unsure whether they will support it. LRT.lt reports that representatives of the Democrats and the Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union learned some budget details from the media.

Finance Minister Taurimas Valys presented the 2027 budget to MPs on Tuesday. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said partners would have further opportunities to discuss the proposal and that he expected them to support it.

Farmers and Greens parliamentary group leader Aušrinė Norkienė said her party had not been invited to take part in preparing the budget and that no working group had been set up. She said the budget was presented to coalition partners at a council meeting, where they agreed to seek a broader discussion at a later meeting. Valys also presented it to parliamentary groups on Monday.

Norkienė said the draft included some of the partners’ proposals, including pay rises for nurses and statutory officers and a family package. However, she said the partners had not discussed how to set priorities and that some issues, including specific allocations for internal security, remained unresolved.

Farmers and Greens MP Dainius Gaižauskas said he would not vote for the budget unless it was substantially amended. He said he had made that position clear to his party’s parliamentary group and to coalition partners.