Lithuanian Journalists Protest ‘Threats’ To Public Broadcaster’s Independence

Journalists from Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT announced on Monday that they would begin protesting a recent decision by lawmakers to alter its financing and management practices, claiming it could threaten editorial independence.

“For the entire week, LRT staff (…) will hold moments of silence on air,” the journalists wrote in a statement released on the broadcaster’s website.

“We will explain why free media is essential to a democratic society,” they added.

Last week, the Lithuanian parliament approved an amendment put forth by populist party Nemunas Dawn, which would loosen restrictions on dismissing LRT’s management.

With near-unanimous support from Lithuania’s governing coalition, the unicameral parliament also voted to freeze LRT’s budget from 2026 until 2028.

These funds, set by law at 1 percent of income tax revenue and 1.3 percent of excise duties, will remain at 2025 levels, amounting to 79.6 million euros ($92 million) instead of the 88.2 million euros expected next year.

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They also introduced an amendment under which the broadcaster’s council could remove its director with a simple majority, rather than the current two-thirds requirement.

LRT employees, as well as the Council of Europe, the European Broadcasting Union, the International Press Institute, and several journalists’ unions, have warned that the latter could result in politicisation.

In their statement, LRT employees also allege that the proposed amendments to the law contradict the European Media Freedom Act and possibly violate the doctrine of the Constitutional Court.

During the protest, the group of nearly 200 journalists says they will also point to “failed states to show what happens when the media is taken over,” including Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, and Georgia.

“We see this is an attempt at Orbanisation,” Indre Makaraityte, head of the investigations desk at LRT, tells AFP.

She added that the amendments were being pushed through “without any discussion”.

On December 9, the journalists plan to hold a protest in front of the Lithuanian Parliament.

AFP