The most important activities of the spring session included adoption of the legislation regulating the systems of taxation, pensions and health care as well as innovation and technology reforms.
At the last sitting of the session, Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, noted that implementation of the changes Lithuanian people needed had already started and that they would be put in place: pensions and salaries were being increased, taxes reduced, and structural reforms undertaken in the fields of education, health care and civil service.
“All the changes are directed towards welfare and well-being of the individual. The reduced wage taxation will become fairer and more attractive for both employees and investors. The reform of health care institutions will increase the quality and accessibility of medical treatment services. The reorganisation of higher education institutions and the introduction of the salaried, as opposed to hourly, pay for teachers, were also on the agenda of the spring session. The pension reform will enable people to secure additional income in old age. In addition to that, the changes in innovation and scientific progress will promote development and create added value to the domestic economy”, said the Speaker.
The Speaker of the Seimas believes that a major step towards national energy independence has been made: the energy strategy, which sets out the main objectives and directions for public energy sector policy, has been renewed. Moreover, as he noted, the discussions held on topical matters made this Seimas session exclusive.
During the spring session, the Seimas approved the reform of the civil service, the family card system, endorsed the support to young families in acquiring the first housing, approved the salaried pay for teachers and changed school financing arrangements. The Parliament also ratified the Agreement on Lithuania’s membership of the OECD and adopted other relevant decisions.
The spring session also saw the delivery of the annual State of the Nation Address by Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and the annual activity report of the Government.
The Statute of the Seimas provides that the Seimas meets biannually in two regular spring and autumn sessions. The spring session opens on 10 March and closes on 30 June. The autumn session opens on 10 September and closes on 23 December. The Members of the Seimas convene in regular sessions without a separate invitation.
