To the President of the Republic of Lithuania
To the Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
To the Committee on Culture of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
To the Government of the Republic of Lithuania
To the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania

Copy to:
The Council of Lithuanian National Radio and Television
The Director General of Lithuanian National Radio and Television

8 December 2025, Vilnius

Regarding Attempts to Politicize the National Broadcaster

The non-governmental organizations signed below oppose the amendments to the Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television currently being considered by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, as they pose a real threat to the independence of the public broadcaster, the transparency of democratic processes, and the public’s right to reliable information.

We firmly believe that an independent national broadcaster is an essential condition for a democratic society. Therefore, the stability of governance procedures must be based on clear and objective criteria. Media freedom and the public’s right to reliable information must be protected as matters of public interest.

We are concerned that the amendments to the LRT Law are being considered in the Seimas in haste, without providing sufficient opportunity for broader expert, journalistic, academic, and civic discussion. In our view, such haste violates the principles of good law-making, as key media sector stakeholders and experts are not being involved in the process, and transparent and professional decision-making is not being ensured.

The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), adopted by the European Union on 11 April 2024, establishes clear rules regarding the governance independence of public service media. It provides that decisions must not be political or rushed, that criteria must be clearly defined by law, and that legal remedies and transparency must be guaranteed. A qualified majority vote of the board members when dismissing the Director General of LRT is one of the legal safeguards that reduces the risk of political influence.

We also note that there is strong public opposition to the proposed amendments — more than 130,000 people have signed a petition against the takeover of LRT. Any legal regulation that creates opportunities for unjustified political influence weakens public trust in institutions and in the media more broadly.

In light of the above, we:

– Call on the Seimas to reject the proposed amendments to the Law on Lithuanian National Radio and Television and to ensure a thorough legislative process based on the principles of the rule of law.

– Propose maintaining the qualified majority requirement and clearly defined procedures for the dismissal of the Director General as essential guarantees of LRT’s governance independence. We also propose establishing justified criteria, as required by the EMFA, in order to ensure legal protection and reduce the risk of political intervention.

– In line with the conclusions of the National Audit Office, propose strengthening the LRT Council by increasing the number of independent members on the Council. In the auditors’ view, greater participation of independent members would improve the quality of decision-making and reflect good corporate governance practice.

We encourage politicians to take into account the position of the public and civil society organizations, which reflects serious concern about the possible politicization of the national broadcaster.

The statement is supported by:

National Education NGO Network, Director Judita Akromienė
National Network of Poverty Reduction Organizations, Director Aistė Adomavičienė
Environmental Coalition, Chair Lina Paškevičiūtė
Lithuanian NGDO Platform, Executive Director Lukas Ivanauskas
NGO Information and Support Centre, Director Olga Žuravliova
National Association of Cultural and Creative Industries, Chair of the Board Algirdas Orantas
NGO Law Institute, Director Gžegož Miloševič
Lithuanian Youth Council, President Umberto Masi
Coalition of Human Rights Organizations, Chair Jūratė Juškaitė
Open Lithuania Foundation, Director Sandra Adomavičiūtė
Council of Representatives of Lithuanian Patient Organizations, Chair Vida Augustinienė
Lithuanian Disability Forum, President Indrė Širvinskaitė