The Lithuanian parliament approved on Friday the program of the new center-right government of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte.

The Seimas approved the amendments to the Statute to provide for remote work options. The amendments (draft No XIVP-63 (2)) establish that in exceptional cases, by a reasoned decision of the Board of the Seimas, the Seimas may hold remote sittings in case of a state of emergency, emergency situation, quarantine or potential disruption of the work of the Seimas when objective circumstances may pose a risk to the health and/or life of the Seimas members and prevent them from convening for a sitting in the buildings of the Seimas. By the decision of the Board of the Seimas, sittings of the Seimas may be organised remotely.

On 10-11 December, President Gitanas Nausėda will take part in the meeting of the European Council in Brussels. The European leaders will discuss the measures for the management of the pandemic, vaccine distribution strategies, climate change targets for 2030, the fight against extremism and terrorism, as well as relations with the US and EU neighboring countries.

On Monday evening, EP and Council negotiators struck a deal on the new InvestEU programme, which supports investments and guarantees simplified access to financing.

Following the Constitution and taking into account the proposals made by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, President Gitanas Nausėda signed the decree confirming the composition of the 18th Government.

MEPs have fought for and obtained better support for key EU programmes creating jobs, tackling the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and boosting climate action.

MEPs will hear about the progress on authorising Covid-19 vaccines and vote on measures tackling the spread of child pornography online.

On 2 December, the Government has decided to issue Lithuanian national visas free of charge to regime-persecuted Belarusians. The proposal was brought forward by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Tuesday, 1 December 2020, the Board of the Seimas endorsed the proposals submitted by the working group set up to consider remote work possibilities, including remote voting options, for the Seimas and its divisions and to draft the necessary legislative amendments. In the near future, the instructed working group will amend the submitted draft amending the Statute of the Seimas to reflect the comments made by the Members of the Board at the meeting.

At the virtual round-table on Moving Towards Smart Cities and Regions, President Gitanas Nausėda pointed out a unique opportunity for Lithuania to become an innovation leader in Europe with the historic funding of the multiannual financial framework and the EU Recovery Fund negotiated in July.