Seimo members spent nearly €1.3 million on parliamentary activities in first half of year

Lithuanian parliament members spent nearly €1.3 million on parliamentary activities in the first half of this year, according to data collected by the Seimas Ethics and Procedures Commission and reported by LRT.

The total expenditure reached €1.28 million, compared to €1.1 million during the same period last year. Each member of parliament was allowed to allocate up to €11,900 for this purpose over six months.

About 50 MPs spent over €11,000, with half of them using more than €10,000. Transportation—including car rental, fuel, insurance, and repairs—remained the largest expense, accounting for roughly half of the allocated funds for many politicians.

Tomas Domarkas spent the most on transportation, using €10,600 of his €10,600 allocation for car rental, operational costs, and repairs. Other high spenders on transport included Vytautas Jucius, Daiva Petkevičienė, and Audrius Petrošius, each spending over €9,000. Several ministers also used thousands for car rentals despite having access to official vehicles: Robertas Kaunas (€6,100), Vaida Aleknavičienė (€3,300), Raminta Popovienė (€4,200), and Jūratė Zailskienė (€2,300).

Souvenirs were another significant expense. Valius Ąžuolas spent €6,600, Ilona Gelažnikienė €3,900, and Dalia Asanavičiūtė-Gružauskienė €3,800. Around one-fifth of MPs used part of their funds to rent offices, with Simonas Kairys and Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen each spending over €4,500. Linas Kukuraičis spent €3,200, while Česlovas Olševskis spent €3,600.

Other expenditures included professional development (Matas Maldeikis: €2,000; Raminta Popovienė: €1,200), public information services (Indrė Kižienė: €3,200; Andrius Busila: €2,700; Arūnas Dudėnas: €2,600), legal services (Artūras Skardžius: €4,400), and accommodation abroad (Emanuelis Zingeris: €3,800; Arminas Lydeka: €3,500). Funds were also used for business cards, printing activity reports, flowers, books, and Seimas tours.

Some MPs, including Gintarė Skaistė, Ingrida Šimonytė, and Raimondas Kuodis, spent little to none of their allocated funds. Seimas Speaker Juozas Olekas used €2,650, mostly for event catering (€1,800), as well as flowers, souvenirs, and public information services. Former Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė spent €653 on office supplies, souvenirs, and official telecommunication services.

Last year, MPs spent over €2.5 million on parliamentary activities, exceeding the previous year’s expenses by more than €500,000. Each MP receives a monthly allowance equal to 0.8 of the average monthly salary for such expenses.