Lithuanian parliament speaker awaits data on how other EU states regulate nuclear weapons deployment

Lithuania’s parliamentary speaker Juozas Olekas is waiting for details on how other European Union member states legally regulate the deployment of nuclear weapons on their territory, state news agency BNS reported on Saturday.

Olekas told journalists he had requested information on “how this is regulated in other EU countries so that we do not fall outside that common framework,” adding that military authorities would also provide data on the technologies and locations involved.

The comments follow a meeting with President Gitanas Nausėda, who last week vetoed an amended law on Klaipėda State Seaport that would have allowed vessels carrying nuclear weapons to dock in Lithuania—provided it did not conflict with national security interests. Nausėda argued the move could violate the constitution, which prohibits weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on Lithuanian soil.

Parliament upheld the presidential veto on May 20. Olekas confirmed discussions are ongoing to gather data before revisiting the issue, noting that any constitutional amendment would require two separate votes by at least 94 of 141 lawmakers, spaced three months apart.

Support for exploring a constitutional change has come from Nausėda, Olekas, and National Security and Defence Committee chair Rimantas Sinkevičius, though opposition leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis has stated his faction would not back the proposal. Last year, then-Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė suggested amendments might be considered if allies proposed concrete plans for nuclear deployment in Lithuania.

Nausėda previously dismissed the need for such discussions, while current Defence Minister Robertas Kaunas has emphasised reliance on US deterrence guarantees. France, meanwhile, has proposed expanding its nuclear umbrella in Europe, with President Emmanuel Macron outlining a scheme in March that would temporarily host French strategic forces in partner nations.