Ships carrying nuclear weapons will remain barred from entering Lithuania after parliament on Thursday upheld President Gitanas Nausėda’s veto of amendments to the law on the Klaipėda state seaport.
The decision was supported by 95 members of parliament, with 4 voting against and 15 abstaining.
Previously, the country’s political leaders expressed willingness to launch discussions on amending the country's constitution to allow the deployment of nuclear weapons, citing the current geopolitical situation.
The move follows a proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to develop a new European nuclear deterrence model, which could involve allies hosting French strategic forces on their territories.
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On the eve of the vote, the Seimas Committee on Legal Affairs had proposed that parliament re-approve the amendments to allow them to take effect, potentially leading to a Constitutional Court review. However, the Seimas rejected this proposal.
During the debate, opposition and ruling coalition representatives presented differing views on constitutional interpretation and national security.
Conservative Ingrida Šimonytė suggested seeking a Constitutional Court ruling on the amendments' legality, while other lawmakers argued that the Constitution already establishes an absolute ban on nuclear weapons.
Nausėda previously said that while the presence of allied nuclear weapons on Lithuanian territory could serve as a deterrent, such a move would require a constitutional amendment.
Lithuania’s current Constitution bans weapons of mass destruction from being based on the country’s territory.
He argued that the law passed by the Seimas could have created conditions for such ships to enter if deemed in the interest of national security, which he said would contradict the Constitution.
The vetoed law would have required at least 71 votes to be overridden.
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