Lithuanian prime minister dismisses advisor after empty classroom training scheme exposed

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė has dismissed her public advisor Vigilijus Jukna following a journalistic investigation that revealed his company organised EU-funded farmer training sessions with no participants, the government’s press service confirmed Monday.

“The prime minister has decided to terminate Vigilijus Jukna’s activities in the position of public advisor to the prime minister. He will no longer perform these duties until the circumstances related to his activities, published in the journalistic investigation, are clarified,” Ignas Dobrovolskas, an advisor to the head of government, told the ELTA news agency.

The investigation by news portal 15min.lt, published Tuesday, found that Jukna’s company “Mokslinės paslaugos” (Scientific Services) and the Vytautas Magnus University Agriculture Academy, which he heads, formally organised professional training courses for farmers funded by EU money—yet no attendees showed up. Despite rules requiring cancellation if fewer than 12 participants appear, the National Paying Agency had already disbursed over €200,000 of the planned €300,000 in EU support.

Speaker of the Seimas Juozas Olekas called the situation “unacceptable,” while President Gitanas Nausėda urged Ruginienė to examine the investigation’s findings closely, stating that if proven true, they would “not adorn the Government Chancellery.”

Jukna previously served as an agricultural advisor under former Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and held senior research roles at Vytautas Magnus University. From 2020 to 2024, he was a member of the Seimas Committee on Rural Affairs.