Following the submission of the work programme, which is drawn up on the basis of the proposals of the Government, Seimas committees, political groups and Members of the Seimas, the draft work programme is deliberated at the committees and political groups of the Seimas.
The draft programme of the session contains 708 draft legal acts (without secondary legal acts), 270 of which are proposed by the Government, 24 by Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, and over 400 by Members of the Seimas (political groups).
While presenting the main tasks of the parliament, Loreta Graužinienė pointed to the need to adopt the laws related to the introduction of the euro (125 draft legal acts) during September and October. In addition to one of the primary tasks of the session such as approval of the state budget and municipal budgets, the budget of the State Social Insurance Fund and the budget of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund, the Speaker of the Seimas also stressed the following: "There are two major priorities: national defence and, not forgetting our people, laws related to social exclusion. By this I mean not only laws, but also funds earmarked in the budget."
Loreta Graužinienė also said that the cyber-security package and the draft Law on the National Historical Memory took priority.
"There is also a need to learn to identify hybrid threats and to enhance resilience of society and infrastructure to information, cyber and other forms of attacks. Initiatives and legal acts pertaining to these important matters will be given priority," Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius seconded the view of the leader of the Seimas.
As he presented the priorities of the autumn session, Algirdas Butkevičius focused on financial matters. "The Constitutional Law on the Implementation of the Fiscal Compact concerning fiscal discipline has to be adopted during this session and the Law on the Stabilising Budgetary Policy that imposes an obligation to create a financial buffer in the event of a budgetary surplus, which will be our goal in 2016, has to follow during the next stage."
The Prime Minister said that draft legal acts concerning the reinforcement of public finance discipline and an increase in budgetary revenue had been prepared or were in the final phases of preparation: "Conditions will be created for more effective collection of undeclared taxes, optimisation of the procedure for provision of information by third persons on tax liabilities, simplification of tax dispute procedures, and other matters will be dealt with."
The Prime Minister stated that the following year the Government would particularly focus on the development of innovative economy and improvement of investment level and would take measures to reduce bureaucracy. It is also planned to present an improved methodology for drawing up municipal budgets.
Mr Butkevičius said that considerable attention would be devoted to education. The Government would table amendments to the Law on Higher Education and Research aimed at ensuring higher guarantees for the quality of studies, improving the procedure for admission of students, organisation of the study process and provision of support. One of the major innovations is contracts to be signed between the Ministry of Education and Science and each higher education institution.
After its submission, the draft work programme of the autumn session was approved by 69 votes in favour, with 2 against and 29 abstentions. It is scheduled for deliberation at the plenary sitting on 18 September 2014.
