According to the Speaker of the Seimas, although most work has been resumed in the ordinary course, the situation in the country still requires special attention both due to the pandemic and the migrants. ‘These challenges make reaching mutual understanding more difficult for different sections of society and, unfortunately, for politicians as well. Nevertheless, I believe that the majority of parliamentarians will prioritise professionalism over emotion during the autumn session. This will allow us to complete the work in progress both in managing the pandemic and dealing with the wave of migration,’ the Speaker says.
The Speaker of the Seimas asserts that the work programme of the session remains ambitious. ‘Although bills are registered and prepared in great number, quality of legislation, rather than quantity, remains our aim. Economic opportunities, social sensitivity, the needed constitutional amendments, the first steps towards implementing the cross-party accord on education, compliance with the Green Deal, public sector reform, and support for families are just a few areas out of many. I firmly believe that the decisions, once taken, will strengthen our state and provide opportunities for everyone to create their own well-being,’ says the Speaker.
Apart from accompanying legislation, the work programme of the autumn session contains a total of 430 bills. Part of the bills have been transferred from previous parliamentary sessions. The Government proposed adding 127 bills, while Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic, suggested adding 8 bills, and Members and Groups of the Seimas proposed 270 bills.
Priority will be given to education, innovation reform, reduction of social exclusion, health care, the Lithuanian Green Deal, public administration, and civil service; provisions of EU legislation will be transposed into national law.
Some of the main tasks of the Seimas this autumn include the adoption of the state budget for 2022, as well as the adoption of budgets for the Social Insurance Fund and the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund. Alongside this work, plans are in place to review open-ended exemptions and special tax conditions under tax legislation.
The Seimas Committee for the Future, Committee on Legal Affairs, and Committee on Foreign Affairs are planning to report to the Seimas on issues of importance to public life and state affairs. The reports will cover the Digital Transformation in Public Management, Improvement of Judicial Expertise with Relation to Terms and Quality of Expertise, and An Ambitious European Union Eastern Partnership Policy: Why it is Needed and How to Achieve it.
Focus on the most disadvantaged social groups
At the autumn session, social protection will come into sharp focus. Draft proposals include increasing wages of the least-earning workers; changing the indexation procedures for social insurance pensions and personal allowances for singles; ensuring the needs of children in foster care and under guardianship are met; introducing a new measure for protection against domestic violence, namely, a domestic violence restraining order; creating better conditions for single parents to rent social housing; and introducing more favourable legal regulation on financial incentives for young families purchasing their first home in Lithuania’s regions.
Bills in the autumn work programme, inter alia, also aim at raising the profile of social work, strengthening the profession of social workers, regulating new flexible working arrangements, introducing non-transferable parental leave, and expanding investment opportunities for pension funds.
National security and social safety remain top priorities
At the autumn session, the Seimas will continue to ensure national security and social safety. The proposed drafts envisage updating the National Security Strategy, which will allow for adequate and comprehensive reinforcement of national security. There are also plans to improve the legal framework for asylum procedures subsequent to declaration of martial law, state of emergency, an emergency situation or an emergency caused by a mass influx of foreigners.
Amendments to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases in Humans are intended to amend regulation on health checks and vaccination of employees engaged in listed sectors and activities when a communicable disease for which a state-level emergency situation and/or quarantine has been declared. Mandatory vaccination against communicable disease for which a state-level emergency situation and/or quarantine has been declared shall be established for workers in certain professions, while health checks of employees engaged in listed sectors and activities shall be carried out at the expense of either employees or employers.
Under the draft work programme, it is planned to submit amendments to the laws establishing the principles and criteria for offering and organising services provided by personal healthcare institutions and for the mutual cooperation of the said institutions in the provision of these services.
In addition, some of the bills provide for more favourable conditions, methods and procedures for assisted reproduction in women.
Landmark changes in education and sports are expected
The programme proposes amendments to the Law on Higher Education and Research that will do away with the discrepancies among higher education institutions as regards admission conditions. In addition, the Law on Vocational Education will be amended to provide for changes in the admission procedure for state-funded education, making it possible to respond, in the process of planning state-funded education, to the demand and supply established by the labour market, employers, and regions.
Amendments to the Law on Physical Culture and Sport offer changing the model of funding of the Physical Education and Sports Support Fund by, inter alia, earmarking funds exclusively for physical activity, funding physical activity projects, charging the Minister of Education, Science and Sport with establishing the procedure for funding the projects, and separating funding for high quality sports, on the one hand, and physical activity, on the other.
Work programme focuses on drafts relevant for environment protection and economy
The work programme is expected to include drafts related to the Lithuanian Green Deal and high added-value economy.
During the autumn session, there are plans to amend legislation governing complex procurement and concessions in order to make public procurement more efficient and to promote innovative and green public procurement. The proposed amendments to the Law on Drinking Water Supply and Waste Water Management are expected to create a mechanism that will encourage growth of water management companies so that high-quality and affordable drinking water supply and wastewater management services are ensured.
The bills will propose changes to the motor vehicle pollution tax regime to the effect of paying the tax at the moment of the first registration of a vehicle in Lithuania and every subsequent year for using the vehicle.
A new bill on Technology and Innovation provides for the creation of a coherent framework for the promotion of innovation activities and efficient development of an innovation-friendly ecosystem.
The intended adoption of a new medium-term road financing scheme and laying down of principles for the administration of roads of national and local importance will lead to greater transparency, efficiency, involvement of municipalities, and depoliticisation of decisions.
Some of the proposed bills will also, inter alia, improve the tax scheme for municipal waste management services, reform the governance and supervision of state-owned enterprises, and introduce more effective legal regulation of the electronic communications market.
The schedule of sittings approved by the Board of the Seimas envisages 45 sittings to be held during the session, three of which will be devoted to the agenda proposed by the opposition.
The Seimas convenes each year for two ordinary spring and autumn sessions. The spring session begins on 10 March and ends on 30 June. The autumn session begins on 10 September and ends on 23 December. Members of the Seimas convene for ordinary sessions without any separate invitation.