- January 27, 2014
- 376
The meeting of the political council of the ruling coalition abounded in decisions
Another meeting of the political council of ruling coalition in Lithuania was held on Monday. Members of the coalition discussed three issues from the order of the day. The meeting was chaired by Valdemar Tomaševski, the leader of Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania (EAPL) and the Member of European Parliament.
Members of the coalition reconsidered the matter of the return of reduced pensions in Lithuania which is a result of economic recession. As they informed, after a long debate in which they have overcome the opposition of socialdemocrats, the coalition members reached a compromise on the issue of reimbursement of reduced pensions – it was decided that 20 % of reduced pensions will be returned this year.
The lack of the Law on Ethnic Minorities in Lithuania and problems it causes was also included into the agenda. The political council of the ruling coalition made a decision that during the next session the Law on Ethnic Minorities from 1991 should be readopted and will be mandatory until a new one is passed.
Members of the coalition also discussed a situation from 23rd December 2013 when the Vilnius Regional Court brought in a verdict of guilty on Boleslav Daškevič who is the Director of the Administration of Šalčininkai district. He was fined a horrendous penalty for using his native language. Participants of the meeting condemned the court’s decision which triggered ethnic arguments in Lithuania and called it a political decision.
The issue of Renata Cytacka was also raised. In her letter, she expressed a support for the speech of Valdemar Tomaševski given at the European Parliament in which he defended the rights of ethnic minorities. She also regretted Dalia Grybauskaitė’s declaration which, according to the author, mislead international community. Members of the coalition unanimously agreed that Renata Cytacka expressed her own views she holds as a private individual and that every citizen has a right to give his or her opinion.
L24.lt has managed to find out that during the political council of the ruling coalition, the participants talked over the approaching double elections in Lithuania – of the President of the country and to the European Parliament. Ruling parties discussed about the possibility to negotiate and coordinate the actions of members of the coalition during the electoral campaign.
The campaign in Lithuania is always accompanied by extreme moods, radical declarations, and even conflicts between parties. This is why members of the coalition had been thinking about how to prevent such tendencies. The had considered methods of preventing situations in which coalition members lack mutual trust and how to avoid unjustified and non-constructive mutual criticism.
The Chairman of the meeting, Valdemar Tomaševski proposed signing an agreement concerning fair political and competitive struggling and rivalry during the upcoming electoral campaign. The proposal have found support of the leaders of every party. It was settled that such an agreement will be signed on the following meeting of the political council.
Signing this document will be proposed by members of the coalition to all parties which are going to take part in the elections.
We would like to remind that the ruling coalition in Lithuania consists of the social democrats, the Labour Party, the “Order and Justice” party and the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania. The meetings of the political council of the ruling coalition, which are most often held on Mondays and on a rotating basis, are chaired by the leaders of the parties of the coalition.
Tłumaczenie by Ewa Żakowska w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Ewa Żakowska within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.
