The International Press Institute (IPI) joins Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partners in raising the alarm about increasing political pressure on Lithuania’s public broadcaster, LRT. Proposed legal amendments to the law governing LRT risk weakening its editorial independence and a recent freezing of its budget jeopardizes its sustainable financing.

Earlier this week, LRT journalists announced a protest scheduled for 9 December in front of the Parliament to oppose proposed changes to the Law on the Lithuanian National Radio and Television, which they say would “dismantle the safeguards that protect LRT’s independence.”

The protest is organized in reaction to two amendments initiated by the governing Nemunas Dawn party, which is part of the ruling parliamentary majority, which targeted both LRT’s budget and the rules governing the dismissal of its Director General.

On 25 November, lawmakers voted to freeze LRT’s annual budget at €79.6 million for 2026, 2027, and 2028, overriding the existing mechanism that would have increased the broadcaster’s funding by roughly 11% next year, according to LRT. The budget change was made without proper consultation with LRT management.

Meanwhile, a proposed legal amendment that would lower the threshold for dismissing the Director General, allowing the LRT Council to remove the head of the broadcaster with a simple majority rather than the current two-thirds requirement, was passed the first reading in Parliament on 27 November. We are concerned that this would open the door to greater political pressure on the LRT’s management and potentially violate Article 5 of the European Media Freedom Act, which obliges Member States to ensure that procedures for the appointment and dismissal of PSM leadership “aim to guarantee the independence of the public service media.”

Our organizations further warn that these legislative reforms follow the results of an internal audit conducted in 2025 to assess LRT’s performance, particularly its “political neutrality” for the period 2021-2024. The audit report, published in November, identified areas for improvement but overall found that the public broadcaster operates efficiently and transparently, and did not identify any editorial bias.

As feared, in the recent weeks politicians from Nemunas Dawn and other coalition parties have instrumentalised the audit findings to attack the public broadcaster, question its funding and governance, and justify attempts to increase political control over LRT. Our organisations repeatedly raised concerns about the scope, nature and justification for such an audit and its potential impact.

Ahead of the planned strike, MFRR partners urge political parties to reject the proposed legislative amendment to the LRT law. Moving forward, any such proposed changes should be put to public consultation, with input from expert national and international journalists and media freedom groups, as well as input from LRT management itself. MFRR partners will continue to closely monitor the situation and alert European institutions about emerging threats to media freedom in Lithuania.

Signed:

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

International Press Institute (IPI)

Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)