KEY POINTS:
• Around 10,000 protesters gathered outside Lithuania’s parliament on December 9, according to police estimates reported by LRT and Bloomberg via Baltic News Service
• The amendments, introduced by populist Nemunas Dawn party leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis, would lower the threshold for dismissing the public broadcaster’s director general from eight votes to a simple majority
• International press freedom organizations warn the proposed changes may violate the European Media Freedom Act
• Protests have continued, with journalists beginning a three-day demonstration on December 16, according to LRT
Approximately 10,000 people gathered outside Lithuania’s parliament on December 9 to protest proposed amendments to the law governing the country’s public broadcaster, Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT), according to police estimates reported by LRT via the Baltic News Service.
The rally, titled “Hands Off Free Speech,” was organized by the Association of Professional Journalists and the Cultural Assembly, LRT reported on December 9. Demonstrators carried placards with messages including “For free speech and media freedom” and “Hands off,” according to LRT.
The protests were triggered by amendments introduced by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, founder of the populist Nemunas Dawn party, according to OCCRP. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project reported on December 9 that Žemaitaitis was expelled from a different political party in 2023 after making antisemitic remarks.
Under the proposed legislation, only a simple majority of the broadcaster’s 12-member supervisory board would be needed to dismiss the LRT director general, according to OCCRP. At present, eight votes are required, OCCRP reported. The council is composed of four members appointed by the president, four by parliament, and four by civil society groups, according to the same report.
Birutė Davidonytė, chair of the Association of Professional Journalists and one of the rally’s leaders, said journalists had urged lawmakers to hold proper consultations on any changes to media law, OCCRP reported. She added that the goal of the protest was to demand the LRT amendments be rejected outright, according to OCCRP.
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom reported on December 4 that on November 25, lawmakers voted to freeze LRT’s annual budget at €79.6 million for 2026, 2027, and 2028. This overrode the existing mechanism that would have increased the broadcaster’s funding by roughly 11 percent the following year, according to ECPMF citing LRT. The budget change was made without proper consultation with LRT management, ECPMF reported.
International media freedom organizations have raised alarms about the proposed amendments. The European Broadcasting Union reported on December 8 that public service media organizations from across Central and Eastern Europe sent a joint open letter to the Lithuanian Seimas expressing concern that the changes could undermine LRT’s independence and breach EU media freedom standards, according to BroadbandTVNews.
The ECPMF, citing the European Media Freedom Act, stated it was concerned the amendments would open the door to greater political pressure on LRT’s management and potentially violate Article 5 of the act, which obliges member states to ensure that procedures for the appointment and dismissal of public service media leadership aim to guarantee independence.
The parliament’s legal department warned that the amendment could contradict the Constitutional Court’s doctrine on media independence and may conflict with the European Media Freedom Act, according to OCCRP.
Žemaitaitis dismissed allegations that he was seeking to influence LRT content on December 9, calling the claims “fantasy,” OCCRP reported.
More than 130,000 people have signed a petition urging parliament to reconsider the amendments, according to OCCRP.
The protests have continued beyond the initial December 9 rally. LRT reported on December 16 that journalists and cultural figures began a three-day protest in Vilnius as parliament moved to consider the amendments. LRT RADIO was broadcasting its programs from Independence Square, outside the parliament building, as part of the protest, according to LRT.
The International Press Institute reported on December 17 that it is increasingly concerned by the situation in Lithuania and has called on the European Commission to assess and comment publicly on the proposed changes to LRT law and their potential violations of the European Media Freedom Act ahead of the next vote.
