The Law will regulate the installation of a physical barrier at the border with Belarus

Press release, 10 August 2021

In order to ensure effective management and resolution of the current emergency situation and prompt adoption of the necessary decisions, the Seimas adopted a Law No. XIVP-753(2) on the Installation of a Physical Barrier on the Territory of the Republic of Lithuania at the EU External Border with the Republic of Belarus. The said Law creates legal, financial and organisational conditions for prompt construction of a physical barrier on the territory of our country at the border with the Republic of Belarus.

A physical barrier shall mean an element of state border protection infrastructure or interconnected elements consisting of a set of structures and mechanisms needed to ensure the protection, surveillance and control of the state border.

The implementation of the said project shall be funded from the state budget. There will also be opportunities to finance it from support of the European Union and other sources. The law stipulates that the project promoter shall not receive any return and/or profit on the investment related to the project.

The Law envisages requisition of land for public needs from private land owners for the implementation of the project, in which case the existing contracts on lease and/or use of the state-owned land shall be terminated before their expiry pursuant to the procedure and conditions established by the Law on the Taking of Land for Public Needs in Implementing Projects of Special National Importance.

The Law provides that the execution of the physical barrier construction work shall be exempt from: 

(1) Requirements under the Law on Construction and secondary legislation on provision of public information about the planned design of the buildings, drawing up of design proposals, preparation of a full-scale design documentation of construction work, expert examination of the design documentation prior to the construction, and receipt of the document authorising the construction;

(2) Requirements under the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment and other legal acts relating to the environmental impact assessment of the planned economic activity;

(3) Restrictions established in the Law on Forests, the Law on Special Land Use Conditions, the Law on Land, the Law on Territorial Planning and associated secondary legislation as well as other legislation related to the construction on forest land, felling of forests and conversion of forest land into areas used for other purposes;

(4) Restrictions laid down in the Law on Protected Areas, the Law on Special Land Use Conditions and the associated secondary legislation as well as other legislation on construction of structures, maintenance and use of movable objects and installations, carrying out of forestry works when the ground is not frozen, and off-road use for driving self-propelled motor vehicles;

(5) Requirements under the Law on Green Areas, the Law on Special Land Use Conditions and associated secondary legislation for obtaining a permit for the felling of protected plantations and compensating for their replacement value;

(6) Solutions under the relevant territorial planning documents, where they restrict the possibilities of construction and installation of a physical barrier and structures or facilities related to the implementation of the project.

The Law obligates the Government to ensure the creation of proper legal, financial and organisational conditions so that the physical barrier is installed as soon as possible. The Government shall also regularly, once a month, provide information on the implementation of this Law to the Committee on National Security and Defence of the Seimas and also quarterly provide summarised information on the matter to the Seimas.

The Law was adopted by 80 votes in favour with 2 votes against and 2 abstentions.

Saulė Eglė Trembo, Chief Specialist, Press Office, Information and Communication Department,

tel. +370 5 239 6203, e-mail: [email protected]