Lithuanian parliament is weakening public media protections, facing EU scrutiny and comparisons to Hungary’s state control.
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The Lithuanian parliament is rapidly considering amendments that weaken protections against political influence over public service broadcasters. The core proposal makes it easier to dismiss the CEO of a public media organization through secret voting and with a lower support threshold. While some government party members back the change, the draft has drawn significant criticism both in Lithuania and across Europe. These proposed changes would simplify the removal of heads of public radio and television by allowing dismissal based on insufficient performance or failure to approve annual reports, without needing to link the reasons to the public interest. International organizations monitoring press freedom have warned that these amendments seriously threaten editorial independence and financial stability of Lithuanian public media, potentially violating the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). Government parties justify the changes by referencing a 2025 media audit, though critics argue this audit did not find evidence of editorial bias. The European Commission has begun investigating the legislative changes to ensure compliance with EMFA requirements. While Lithuania’s press freedom index shows recent slight decline, experts note that current tensions test the practical application of EU media guarantees. Some commentators draw parallels between these developments and the gradual erosion of public media autonomy seen in Hungary since 2010.
