IN THE ISSUE

·         The Seimas Ratified the Treaty concerning the Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union

·         Lithuanian citizens’ initiative to hold a referendum announced

·         Seimas Speaker Irena Degutienė signed the Declaration of Cooperation among the Houses of the Parliaments of Ireland, Lithuania and Greece in support of the preparation and fulfilment of EU Presidency

Homeland Union - Lithuanian Christian Democrat

Political Group

THE SEIMAS RATIFIED THE TREATY CONCERNING

THE ACCESSION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and with regard to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Lithuania of 2 April 2012, the Seimas has ratified (on 26 April 2012) the Treaty concerning the Accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union (EU).

DRAFT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS REVISING THE FAMILY CONCEPT APPROVED AFTER

THE FIRST READING AT THE SEIMAS

On 19 April 2012, the first reading of the Draft Law No XIP-3981(2) amending Article 38 of the Constitution with a view to revising the notion of the family was held at the Seimas.

The amendments under consideration aim to include into the Constitution the provisions that the family shall be established through marriage; marriage shall be entered into by free consent of a man and a woman; and the family shall equally derive from motherhood and fatherhood. It is proposed that the fundamental law of the country contains the provision that the state shall protect and foster marriage, and not only family, motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood, as established in the present Constitution.

SEIMAS ADOPTED A RESOLUTION ON THE RESULTS OF THE LITHUANIAN OSCE PRESIDENCY

The Seimas has adopted (on 10 April) the resolution on the results of the Lithuanian presidency over the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2011.

AMENDMENT ADOPTED REGARDING THE POSSIBILITY FOR POLITICIANS REMOVED FROM OFFICE BY IMPEACHMENT TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT

The Seimas has adopted (on 22 March) an amendment to the Law on Elections to the Seimas establishing the period banning the impeached politicians from running for public office. The Law amendment stipulates that a person, who has been removed from office by parliamentary impeachment or had his or her mandate revoked by the Seimas, is banned from running for the Seimas for four years.

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant

LITHUANIAN CITIZENS’ INITIATIVE TO HOLD A REFERENDUM ANNOUNCED

While speaking at the plenary sitting (on 22 March), Speaker of the Seimas, Mrs Irena Degutienė, informed about the decision of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to register the Initiative Group (IG) comprising 23 Lithuanian citizens who have the right of vote, for announcing a consultative (advisory) referendum. The IG believes that the decision on constructing a new nuclear power plant in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania should be made by way of a nationwide referendum. The IG will collect signatures from 27 March to 27 June 2012.

LITHUANIAN PARLIAMENT REJECTS PRESIDENTIAL VETO AND ESTABLISHES THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THE LAW ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT WILL NOT BE APPLICABLE TO POLITICAL PARTIES

The Seimas adopted amendments to the Law on Public Procurement on 13 March 2012 stating that the requirements of this Law would not be applied to procurement carried out by political parties. 91 MPs voted in favour of the amendment, 15 were against, and 17 abstained.

Before the Law was amended, a public or private legal person was deemed to be a contracting authority, if all or part of its activities were intended for meeting the needs of general interest of other than industrial and commercial character, and if the activities thereof were financed, for more than 50%, from state or municipal budgets, or from other state or municipal funds, or from the resources of other public or private legal persons specified. Under the amendments adopted, a public or private legal person with the exception of political parties shall be deemed a contracting authority.  

SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS ASKS THE HEAD OF THE BUNDESTAG FOR GREATER CONSIDERATION TO THE PROBLEMS OF THE DECOMMISSIONING OF THE IGNALINA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT

During her visit to Germany on 24-26 April 2012, Mrs Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert, President of the German Bundestag, and the Parliamentary Friendship Group for Relations with the Baltic States. The visit was organised at the invitation of the President of the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The meeting focussed on common positions of Lithuania and Germany in relation to the EU financial perspective, the funding of the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP), and the priorities of Lithuania’s presidency of the EU.  

ENERGY POLICY PROPOSALS BY THE LITHUANIAN SEIMAS WERE INCORPORATED INTO COSAC FINAL DOCUMENTS

24 April 2012

The Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs (COSAC) agreed with the proposals on EU energy policy made by the Seimas Committee on European Affairs.

The Committee delegation proposed the COSAC to underscore, in its final document, the objective of the EU energy policy to create an integrated energy infrastructure and single energy market. During the debate, the Lithuanian proposal was supported by the delegations of the Committees on European Affairs of Latvia and Estonia and later received the approval of all the EU parliamentary delegations participating in the meeting.

SEIMAS SPEAKER SIGNED THE DECLARATION OF COOPERATION AMONG THE HOUSES OF THE PARLIAMENTS OF IRELAND, LITHUANIA AND GREECE IN SUPPORT OF THE PREPARATION AND FULFILMENT OF EU PRESIDENCY

21 April 2012, press release

At the Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments, Mrs Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas, Senator Denis O’Donovan, Leas-Chathaoirleach of the Seanad Éireann, Mr Seán Barrett T.D., Ceann Comhairle of the Dáil Éireann, and Mr Athanassios Papaioannou, Secretary General of the Hellenic Parliament, signed the Declaration of Cooperation among the Houses of the Parliaments of Ireland, Lithuania and Greece in support of the preparation and fulfilment of the parliamentary dimension of the Presidencies of these three European Union Member States for the period 1 January 2013 – 30 June 2014.

IRENA DEGUTIENĖ: LITHUANIAN-POLISH BILATERAL RELATIONS NEED RESETTING

Press Release, 20 April 2012

Speaker of the Seimas, Mrs Irena Degutienė, states that Lithuania and Poland need to think about resetting their bilateral relations. This is what the Speaker said after the interaction with the Marshal of the Polish Senate, Mr Bogdan Borusewicz, in an informal environment at the new football National Stadium in Warsaw.  

UKRAINE HAS TO STAY ON TRACK TO EUROPE, DEPUTY SPEAKER OF THE SEIMAS CLAIMS

Mr Erikas Tamašauskas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, met (on 12 April 2012) with Mr Mykola Azarov, Prime Minister of Ukraine visiting Lithuania. Tamašauskas highlighted Lithuania’s consistent support to Ukraine’s European integration and the country’s EU membership prospects. The Deputy Speaker commended the Prime Minister of Ukraine on having initialled the Association Agreement that also covers the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA).