Kasčiūnas urges Sinkevičius to lead demographic agreement

Conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas expects Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius to take the lead in reaching a national agreement on demographic policy, LRT reported.

“The central figure is, of course, the prime minister. Our proposal is a signal that talking is not enough — we need to act,” Kasčiūnas said on the ELTA weekly programme.

He said the government had the necessary tools and resources to implement demographic measures, while the prime minister should determine which proposals were feasible with the resources currently available.

Kasčiūnas also stressed that demography should not become a focus of political competition.

“This issue requires a national agreement. If we adopt precise and wise decisions on demography and create an environment that is favourable to families, they will only have an effect in 15 or 20 years. In other words, you cannot build political capital from this,” he said.

He described demographic challenges, including the “demographic winter”, as an existential problem for the country that should be addressed through common decisions.

Kasčiūnas said the conservatives would approach discussions constructively and professionally. He added that the party would support measures that were possible with the available resources rather than seeking additional benefits solely to improve its own proposal.

This week, the parliamentary faction of the Homeland Union Lithuanian Christian Democrats prepared a draft national agreement among political parties on demography for 2026 to 2040 and submitted it to parliamentary parties for consideration.

The draft proposes expanding state support for first-home purchases so that it would be more widely available to people aged 18 to 35 and young families. It also calls for stronger family policy and better access to services in cities and regions, improved conditions for combining work and child-rearing, and more active support for return migration by helping Lithuanian citizens living abroad return and integrate into the country’s labour market and education system.

The conservatives also said attention should be given to healthy ageing and extending life expectancy.

Plans for a national agreement

As reported by ELTA, Sinkevičius, who chairs the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party, said in May that he would initiate a national agreement among political parties and state institutions on the demographic crisis this year as the country’s birth rate continues to decline rapidly.

Parliament Speaker Juozas Olekas told ELTA that such an agreement could be implemented during the current parliamentary term.

In early April, a draft amendment prepared by the Ministry of Health to liberalise the provision of assisted reproduction services passed its first vote in parliament. The proposal would provide single women and unmarried couples with equal opportunities to have children.

It would also grant access to assisted reproduction services to people who live together for at least one year without having entered into a marriage or registered partnership, as well as to single women whose infertility has been medically established.

In March, the government declared 2027 and 2028 the Years of the Family. Eight ministries proposed family policy measures aimed at addressing the demographic crisis.