The National Defence Council (VGT) 's decision to significantly increase national defence allocations has recently been criticised, in particular by Remigijus Žemaitaitis, the Chairman of Nemuno Aušra.
„At the beginning of March, perhaps on 18 March, (I suggest – ELTA) to hold a closed session of the Seimas, where representatives of the army and the Ministry of National Defence would present this threat assessment,“ Skvernelis told the Seimas Board on Wednesday.
„And the second part would be the needs according to the military advice, what equipment and armaments are needed, how much it would cost approximately, to prevent misinformation and discrediting the very idea that the funds necessary for the defence of the country are used to buy boots, spoons or something else“, he added.
According to the politician, the parliamentarians would be provided restricted information during this meeting. All members of the Seimas have access to this classified information.
„This would be a restricted closed meeting with all the necessary security measures. And in the Seimas, we can organise such a meeting under this classification level,“ he said.
According to the politician, if the institutions succeed in downgrading the classification to restricted, the meeting would include a presentation of the quantities and prices of weapons and infrastructure needed by the Lithuanian Armed Forces.
Skvernelis hopes that this closed meeting will prevent some politicians from spreading misinformation about using defence funds.
„To prevent misinformation, talking about and discrediting the very idea that funds necessary for the country's defence are used to buy shoes, spoons or anything else,“ Skvernelis said.
„This would be a restricted closed meeting, with all the necessary security measures. And we can organise such a meeting in the Seimas, by the requirements of this level of secrecy,“ the Speaker of the Seimas said.
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, representing the opposition, said that she supported Skvernelis' idea. However, she pointed out that this would be a closed session. Therefore, according to the MEP, this initiative would not prevent politicians who deliberately spread disinformation from continuing to do so.
„I support informing the Members of Parliament, but it would still be such a closed session. And it should probably be openly stated here that Žemaitaitis is saying that his public statements discrediting the entire national defence system sound like 0.6% of the defence budget is spent on purchasing armaments.
Mr Speaker of the Seimas, by meeting with representatives of the armed forces and myself, because we work in various committees, we could encourage the correct information to reach people as widely as possible. It is one thing for it to get the Members of Parliament, we see that some are deliberately misleading, and it is another thing for it to be as public as possible so that we do not leave any room for misleading,“ said Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen.
According to the Law on the Civil Service and Secrets, classified information marked „Restricted“ is accessible to all Seimas members who need it to perform their duties.
The Seimas Statute provides that if the Seimas so decides, or if the President or the Speaker of the Seimas so requests, a closed session shall be held on an exceptional basis, at which, in addition to the members of the Seimas, only persons specially invited to the session and, if necessary, the staff of the Secretariat of the Session shall be allowed to attend.
The Seimas Management Board, the political groups, and committees shall have the right to propose holding a private sitting, with the necessary reasons.
Žemaitaitis was also in the spotlight for his remarks about President Gitanas Nausėda. During meetings with voters, the politician accused the Head of State of proposing to nationalise the population's deposits and use them for defence. He also explained that national defence could be financed from the funds that Lithuania could receive by lifting sanctions on the transit of Belarusian fertiliser.
Skvernelis called these statements by Žemaitaitis an ongoing disinformation campaign. They pointed out that the positions of Nemuno Aušra were not in line with the principles enshrined in the coalition agreement.
At the same time, the Head of State himself stated that if Žemaitaitis continues to discredit Lithuania with such statements, changes in the ranks of the current coalition will be inevitable.
For his part, Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas continues to reiterate that the scandalous statements made by the leader of the Nemuno Aušra party, Žemaitaitis, should not be exaggerated. The Head of Government is convinced that the coalition partner's statements about Ukraine and the Russian threat or the distortion of the Head of State's proposals, which has outraged the Presidency, have no real negative consequences.
The Coalition Council will also discuss the statements by Žemaitaitis, which have been criticised in the public space, on Monday.