The Seimas has begun considering a constitutional amendment that would remove the provision prohibiting the deployment of weapons of mass destruction and foreign military bases on Lithuanian territory. The initiative was recently endorsed at a meeting chaired by the president and attended by the country’s main political parties.
According to Juozas Olekas, the Speaker of the Seimas, who presented the draft amendment, Lithuania’s security environment, the country’s international position and the means of ensuring national security have changed fundamentally since the Constitution was adopted. He pointed to the escalation of nuclear rhetoric, the modernisation of nuclear capabilities and the strengthening of military infrastructure in regions neighbouring Lithuania, including the Kaliningrad region and Belarus.
Following the presentation, 89 lawmakers voted in favour of advancing the amendment, 11 voted against and six abstained. The draft has now been referred to the relevant parliamentary committee for consideration. The Seimas is expected to return to the proposal during its autumn session.
Article 137 of the Constitution states that Lithuania may not possess weapons of mass destruction or host foreign military bases.
“This constitutional provision was adopted after the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Lithuania, that is, under historical and geopolitical circumstances when Russian armed forces were still present on the country’s territory. One of the state’s most important tasks was to ensure the complete withdrawal of the occupying army, strengthen state sovereignty and prevent any forcible integration into post-Soviet Eastern unions,” the explanatory note to the draft states.
