Ruginienė questions need for family referendum

Social Security and Labour Minister Inga Ruginienė said she did not understand the need for an advisory referendum on the concept of family, LRT reported.

“We have a Constitution that defines the concept of family, and a separate law on the family with very clear wording. What more would a referendum tell us? I really don’t understand,” Ruginienė told LRT Radio on Tuesday.

She said the referendum would cost about 5.5 million euros.

A draft parliamentary resolution to call the referendum received initial approval in early April, but further consideration has stalled in parliamentary committees. Voters would be asked whether the Constitution should explicitly state that family legal relations arise only from the marriage of a man and a woman, motherhood and fatherhood. They would choose “Yes” or “No.”

President Gitanas Nausėda told BNS last week that parliament should call the advisory referendum and said he supported the wording proposed by its initiators.

In late October, the Farmers, a junior coalition partner, urged the Social Democrats to bring the initiative back to the parliamentary chamber and linked the issue to their support for the 2027 state budget. Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius said last week he saw no connection between the budget and the referendum, and called the Farmers’ condition not very acceptable.

The draft proposes holding the referendum alongside municipal elections in March 2027.