The draft's explanatory memorandum states that Russia's growing influence is evident not only in Lithuania but also in Europe and the world, as shown by the elections in major European countries and the presidential elections in Romania, where only the intervention of the Romanian Constitutional Court saved the country from an openly pro-Russian and possibly Russian-paid candidate.
The draft law seeks to exclude a political organisation from state budget allocations if the CEC(VRK) finds that the party, its chairman, its governing bodies, or its members have seriously violated the law.
Currently, this measure can only be used if a political party is found to have infringed.
The investigation of political parties would, among other things, allow the possibility of investigating not only the political organisation but also its chairperson in individual cases. If the misconduct of a political organisation, its chairperson, its governing bodies, or its members is established, the court could apply the measures provided for by law.
The law's initiators argue that the influence of states hostile to Lithuania and parties that spread anti-state and human rights rhetoric was evident in last year's elections.
„Decisions by parties and their governing bodies to adopt an anti-state electoral programme should not be overlooked. However, more and more often, there are cases when the programme does not explicitly include anti-state activities, propaganda of war or violence, danger or threat to Lithuania's security. Still, the party, its chairman or governing bodies propagate and disseminate them. We believe that anti-state activities and rhetoric should not be considered an expression of freedom of speech. In such a geopolitical situation, we must not allow Russian influence to penetrate our country,“ said Dalia Asanavičiūtė, the project's initiator.
The MEP said that both abroad and in Lithuania, we can see parties that incite hatred, unequivocally support Russia in its war against Ukraine, and spread war propaganda, which shows the importance of this amendment.