Draft amendments would lower the bar for removing Lithuanian National Radio and Television\u2019s top management<\/p>\n
Lithuania\u2019s state broadcaster LRT has accused the ruling coalition of trying to subjugate independent media, as lawmakers fast-track amendments that would make it easier to dismiss the outlet\u2019s director general.
\nParliament last week backed the first reading of a bill submitted by Remigijus Zemaitaitis, leader of the populist Dawn of Nemunas party, to lower the dismissal threshold to a simple majority from the current two-thirds. Zemaitaitis has since floated a compromise requiring at least seven of the council\u2019s twelve votes, while the LRT Council insists the existing qualified-majority rule of eight votes should remain.
\nIn a statement on Monday, LRT journalists and other employees urged the government to withdraw the draft, saying the changes were being pushed through without involving media organizations and legal experts. They warned the proposal contradicts the European Media Freedom Act and may clash with Lithuania\u2019s Constitutional Court doctrine, arguing it could allow each new government to install a loyal director.<\/p>\n
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\u201cOur concern is not about any specific individuals \u2013 we are protesting against efforts to dismantle the safeguards that protect LRT\u2019s independence,\u201d the statement published on LRT\u2019s website read.
\nThe row follows a planned \u201cpolitical neutrality\u201d audit of LRT and a parliamentary decision to freeze the broadcaster\u2019s funding for 2026-2028. Staff say the steps threaten the outlet\u2019s independence.
\nEmployees have announced a week-long protest, including brief on-air silences, and have called on the public to join a rally outside parliament on December 9.
\nIn November, Dawn of Nemunas adopted a resolution accusing Lithuanian media of abandoning public-service principles and becoming \u201ctools not of conveying information, but of concealment, open propaganda, and sowing discord.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Poland and Baltics sabotaged pre-Ukraine conflict talks with Russia \u2013 Merkel<\/p>\n
The resolution came amid a widening fight over control of Lithuania\u2019s information space \u2013 a sensitive issue, as Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia have taken one of the EU\u2019s hardest lines toward Moscow since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022.
\nMoscow has rejected claims that it poses a threat to Western nations as \u201cnonsense\u201d and fearmongering, and has condemned what it calls the West\u2019s \u201creckless militarization.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Draft amendments would lower the bar for removing Lithuanian National Radio and Television\u2019s top management Lithuania\u2019s state broadcaster LRT has accused the ruling coalition of trying to subjugate independent media,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23529,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t