There will be no pledge to pass a civil partnership bill in the new Lithuanian government’s program, Prime Minister-designate Gintautas Paluckas says.
“There’s no such item in the coalition agreement, nor will it be included in the government program, but individual members of the Seimas and individual political groups have the right to take the initiative and this issue may be put on the Seimas agenda, despite not being part of the government program,” Paluckas said after a meeting of the leaders of the ruling parties on Wednesday.
The Social Democrat noted that if the bill were proposed, he would support same-sex civil partnership, as he had done before.
“If such an issue is on the agenda, I am ready to support it,” Paluckas said.
In the spring of 2023, the Lithuanian parliament gave its initial backing to the bill on civil partnership, which would also cover same-sex unions. The bill is one vote away from being passed.
The leader of the Nemunas Dawn party, one of the junior members in the Social Democrat-led coalition, has said he will not allow including same-sex partnership into the government programme.
Lithuania does not have a civil partnership law either for same-sex or opposite-sex couples. Previous attempts in the parliament to pass the legislation have failed due to opposition from socially conservative MPs.
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