Parties split over plan to raise Lithuania’s birth rate

Lithuania’s opposition Conservatives have drafted a proposed agreement on demographic policy, but the governing Social Democrats want to prepare their own version, LRT reports. The parties agree that the country’s declining birth rate requires discussion, but have yet to unite behind a common plan.

Birth rates in Lithuania reached an unprecedented low last year, and the trend is unlikely to improve this year, according to the report. Politicians have repeatedly called for measures to encourage people to have more children, but their proposals remain fragmented and no single solution has emerged.

The Homeland Union Lithuanian Christian Democrats have invited the leaders of parliamentary parties to discuss their draft agreement. The document aims to establish a long term state strategy independent of election cycles, slow population ageing, increase the birth rate and create a more family friendly environment.

Conservative leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas said Lithuania’s demographic situation had reached a point where short term measures were no longer sufficient. He cited a birth rate of about 0.99 children per woman, compared with 2.1 children per woman needed to ensure generational replacement.

Kasčiūnas said large scale immigration was not a long term solution to Lithuania’s demographic problems and could not replace support for families, the return of Lithuanian citizens, higher labour productivity and policies to adapt to an ageing society. He said immigration policy should be controlled and match the country’s labour market needs and integration capacity.

The Conservative draft proposes improving families’ access to their first home, strengthening family policy and making services more accessible in both major cities and the regions. It also calls for better conditions to combine work and family responsibilities, support for return migration and promotion of healthy ageing.

Social Democratic faction leader Orinta Leiputė told LRT that Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius had been the first to raise the idea of a demographic agreement. The Social Democrats welcomed the debate but said they preferred to develop their own draft rather than sign the Conservatives’ proposal.

The Social Security and Labour Ministry also said it welcomed the discussion, listed measures intended to help families decide to have children and said it was ready to consider various proposals.