Opposition MPs failed on Monday to delay consideration of amendments to the public broadcaster LRT in the parliamentary Culture Committee.
A proposal by conservative Vytautas Juozapaitis to postpone the deliberations was supported by three committee members, while four members of the ruling majority voted against it.
Juozapaitis emphasised that changes to LRT governance should not be considered before receiving the conclusions of the Venice Commission.
The members of parliament also argued that a government assessment is necessary as the implementation of the amendments would require additional state budget expenditure. The Seimas had previously rejected such a proposal after the project's introduction.
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According to Juozapaitis, the actions of the ruling coalition demonstrate a desire to take control of the public broadcaster.
"It is obvious that this bill is currently aimed at one person, or rather not even a person, but a position, because the entire law is scheduled to come into force in 2028, or late 2027, except for one article regarding the grounds for dismissing the director. The question is why?" Juozapaitis said.
"The goal is simply to temporarily install or employ their own person who could, while acting as interim, restructure the entire organisation and turn LRT into a service desk for the ruling party," he claimed.
The proposal to delay the deliberations was also supported by Democrat Rima Baškienė.
"The fact that an extraordinary meeting is taking place already shows haste. The arguments regarding the Venice Commission and the government's conclusion are very important. I will add that we heard from Reporters Without Borders; they also suggested not to rush and to stop the consideration of this law," she said.
Committee Chairman Kęstutis Vilkauskas, a Social Democrat, maintained that the extraordinary meeting was held in accordance with parliamentary statutes, initiated by at least one-third of the committee members.
The Seimas Committee on Culture met for an extraordinary session on Monday to discuss the LRT law amendments.
Hearings have been held on the project, and expert assessments were provided by specialists from two higher education institutions. They warned that changes to the LRT management model could create conditions for restricting the broadcaster's independence.
Once the Committee on Culture decides on all proposals, the bill will be submitted to the Seimas for consideration, likely on Thursday.
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