Lithuania’s Special Investigation Service (STT) has warned that proposed amendments to the law governing the national public broadcaster pose risks to transparency and could threaten media independence.
In an anti-corruption assessment released last week, the agency said a proposal to allow the Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) Council to dismiss the broadcaster’s director through a secret ballot raises concerns about accountability and openness. The service also criticised efforts to fast-track the legislation through parliament.
According to the Special Investigation Service, secret voting by the LRT council would not ensure transparency or public accountability and would not eliminate the risk of outside pressure on council members. Instead, the agency said, it could prevent the identification and management of conflicts of interest and make it harder to assess whether decisions were made objectively and impartially.
“On such socially significant issues related to the public interest as the dismissal of the LRT head, decisions must be made as transparently as possible,” the agency said.
The anti-corruption agency noted that the LRT Council represents the public interest and acts for the benefit of both the broadcaster and society at large. As a result, Council members should be publicly responsible and accountable for their decisions, with a transparent decision-making process.
The agency also raised doubts about the legislative process itself, noting that the amendments are being pushed through under an expedited procedure. It said opinions from the government and other institutions were not requested and stressed that fast-track procedures should be used only in exceptional cases.
The proposed legal changes are particularly significant, the agency said, because they could threaten the editorial and institutional independence of the public broadcaster and potentially conflict with rulings by Lithuania’s Constitutional Court as well as European Union standards on media freedom.
Additional concerns were raised about plans for the amendments to take effect next year, while the current LRT director’s term is still ongoing. The agency said that postponing the law’s entry into force until a new director takes office would help dispel the perception that the changes are aimed at a specific individual and would underscore their systemic nature.
The ruling coalition is seeking to allow the LRT director general to be dismissed if seven of the Council’s 12 members vote in favour by secret ballot, citing an unapproved annual activity report or improper performance of duties. Under the current law, the director can be dismissed only through an open vote, requiring at least eight Council members and justification based on the public interest.
LRT and the Association of Professional Journalists have warned that the rushed legislation, introduced without broad consultation, threatens the independence of the public broadcaster and media freedom more broadly.
More than 10,000 people took part in protests outside parliament in mid-December and again last week, citing concerns over threats to freedom of expression.
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