Lithuanian parliament committee resumes debate on public broadcaster governance reforms

The Lithuanian parliament’s Culture Committee will continue discussions on proposed amendments to the governance structure of the national broadcaster LRT on Wednesday, BNS reports.

The draft law, which has drawn over 100 submissions and comments, was first debated last Monday, with further sessions held on Wednesday and Friday of the same week. Committee members have so far reviewed just over half of the registered proposals.

Wednesday’s meeting will be held remotely, a decision criticised by opposition lawmakers. They argue that committee chairman Kęstutis Vilkauskas, a Social Democrat, has violated parliamentary rules by not allowing members to choose between in-person or remote participation.

“This practice raises serious doubts about the legality of the committee’s work and provides grounds to view it as a restriction of MPs’ rights and a violation of parliamentary principles,” opposition representatives stated.

Earlier, opposition members had also accused the committee of other procedural breaches during its sessions.

The proposed amendments, already approved in principle by parliament, would redefine LRT’s mission, establish a new governing board, expand its council from 12 to 15 members, and introduce stricter criteria for council appointees. The changes would also restrict the involvement of other media representatives in LRT’s content creation and revise the grounds for dismissing the director-general before their term ends.

The reforms have faced criticism from LRT’s administration, some journalists, and academic circles.