Lithuanian parliament may hold emergency session over LRT law amendments

The speaker of Lithuania’s parliament, Juozas Olekas, has not ruled out calling an extraordinary session on Friday to finalise amendments to the law governing the national broadcaster LRT, though he hopes it will not be necessary, ELTA reports.

With only 11 working days left in the current session, the Seimas must complete its review of the proposed changes. The Culture Committee approved the revised draft last week, but scheduling constraints could force an unscheduled debate.

“We could continue next week, but no plenary sessions are planned,” Olekas told reporters on Tuesday. “We have allocated significant time, as the committee discussions were lengthy. Hopefully, we will resolve everything on Thursday and avoid an additional session.”

He acknowledged that emergency sessions are not uncommon when urgent matters arise, adding: “Everything is proceeding normally. It’s possible we may need one, but we may not.”

The amendments, which introduce a new LRT governing board, changes to its council composition, and revised grounds for early dismissal of the director-general, were reviewed by the Venice Commission. The Commission recommended further refinements, particularly ensuring that new dismissal rules apply only to future appointees.

Kęstutis Vilkauskas, chair of the Culture Committee, confirmed that the committee had incorporated the Commission’s feedback. The draft law, initially prepared by a working group, received around 150 proposals from MPs, 15 submissions from organisations and citizens, and over 40 legal observations from the Seimas Legal Department.

The amendments follow earlier attempts by the ruling coalition to fast-track changes to the dismissal process for LRT’s director-general in December, which sparked public protests.