Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has accused the ruling party of tampering with the constitution as they push to replace him with the prime minister as Lithuania's representative to the European Council.
“No institution, no ministry, no group of parliament members can [...] restrict the president's ability to perform their constitutional duty,” Nausėda told BNS in an interview.
Read more: ‘Game of thrones’ between president and government: who should represent Lithuania in Brussels?
Although Lithuania has until now been sending its president to EU summits in Brussels, some conservative MPs have argued that European Council decisions pertain to policies that are clearly within the government's purview. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian president's powers are mostly limited to foreign affairs and defence.
President Nausėda has resisted the moves, however.
“It is the president's duty to represent the country in various international organisations and foreign countries, while implementing the country's foreign policy,” the president said on Monday.
“Specifically, if you are speaking about the [parliamentary] Committee on European Affairs, then, yes, it can formulate Lithuania's position, but it doesn't have the right to decide on the composition of the delegation,” he added.
The parliamentary committee has said recently that it will not only shape Lithuania's positions before each European Council summit, but will also make recommendations as to who should lead the country's delegation.
Parliamentarians of the ruling conservative Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats say that Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė should go to EU summits instead of Nausėda when the agenda relates to domestic issues.
The conservatives maintain that since the president is not accountable either to the parliament or the government, there is a risk that he or she may deviate from the mandate approved by them.
President Nausėda noted that this has not happened so far, adding that successful cooperation is possible if there is good will on both sides.
“Has there ever been a precedent where the president [...] has deviated from Lithuania's position? Lithuania's position is formulated jointly, with various institutions working on it, and we adhere to this position,” he said.
The matter is being needlessly escalated to raise tensions, and score political points, according to Nausėda.
“It seems to me that we are creating a problem where it might not actually exist. Perhaps this is being done deliberately: the problem is created to find a certain point of tension or a source of tension,” he said.
Asked if he and the prime minister could send separate delegations to Brussels, the president said it would be harmful to Lithuania's reputation.
“This would be a somewhat comical situation,” he said.
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