Lithuanian public broadcaster leadership dismissal rules should apply only to future directors, Venice Commission advises

The Venice Commission has recommended that proposed amendments to Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT law—currently under debate in parliament—should apply dismissal procedures only to directors appointed after the changes take effect, state news agency BNS reports.

In a draft opinion seen by BNS, the Council of Europe’s advisory body states that revised dismissal rules “should apply only to general directors appointed after the amendments enter into force, thus avoiding ad personam [targeted] legal acts.” The commission evaluated an earlier version of the bill before it was amended by the Culture Committee, which retained a parliamentary working group’s proposal requiring a two-thirds vote of LRT’s governing council to dismiss a director before their term ends—the same threshold as now. However, the committee suggested clarifying the grounds for dismissal and allowing the council to choose between open or secret ballots (currently only open votes are permitted).

LRT’s current director-general, Monika Garbačiauskaitė-Budrienė, has previously argued that even the amended bill targets her personally. While most governance changes would take effect later, the new dismissal procedure would apply immediately upon the law’s adoption.

The commission’s draft—though not final—highlights concerns that the bill may conflict with European Convention on Human Rights standards and media independence principles. It criticizes the legislative process for failing to meet “good lawmaking standards,” noting no assessment of LRT’s funding model was conducted and that budget freezes remain in place. “The Venice Commission considers that the draft law […] should not be adopted in its current form,” the opinion states.

Key objections include the prolonged freeze on public broadcaster funding and proposed ties between LRT’s financing and public service contracts, which the Culture Committee had already rejected. While welcoming the restored two-thirds vote requirement for dismissals, the commission calls for stronger safeguards: clearer, objective dismissal criteria; judicial review of decisions; and guarantees of the governing council’s independence.

Additional recommendations include a thorough impact assessment, broader stakeholder consultations, and stricter limits on restricting other media’s participation in LRT broadcasts—permitted only in exceptional, clearly defined cases. The commission also urges clearer separation of oversight and management roles within LRT’s governance structure and explicit protections for editorial independence in line with European standards.