Recently, political pressure on the Lithuanian public service broadcaster LRT has increased dramatically. Cilla Benkö and Gabriel Byström from Swedish Radio write about a deeply troubling development for the EBU.

Today, Lithuanian journalists are demonstrating in front of the parliament in Vilnius. The reason is simple: they want the world to understand what is happening in our Baltic neighboring country. These journalists want the world to react to the planned measures against LRT.

For many years, the country has held a very stable position high up on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, most recently ranked 14th. There has been a strong framework around public service media, ensuring both political independence and solid finances.

Much of this is now at risk, which has prompted both local journalists and media freedom organizations across Europe to react strongly. Amongst other things, the government wants to change the rules regarding the CEO. The proposal, which has already been discussed in the Lithuanian parliament in a first round, is that a vote of at least half of the Council members would be enough to dismiss the CEO of LRT. On top of that the vote would be secret. Currently, the vote is open and requires a qualified majority (at least eight out of twelve members) for dismissal. If the proposal passes, the distance between politics and journalism will shrink, increasing the risk of political appointments.

The government has also decided to freeze LRT’s budget for the years 2026–2028, which risks leading to extensive cutbacks. A year ago, the government also decided to conduct an analysis of LRT’s independence to ensure the company truly meets impartiality requirements. The analysis has been criticized for unclear usage and vague parameters. The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) has warned that such investigations risk creating self-censorship and threatening editorial independence.

Driving the changes regarding LRT has been the ruling party Nemuno Aušra, part of a patchwork coalition government together with, among others, the Social Democrats. The party, which has quickly gained significant traction, was founded as recently as 2023 and has been surrounded by rumours of links to Russian oligarchs. This summer, LRT published an investigation into this1. Leading representatives have also repeatedly been accused of antisemitism; as recently as last week, party leader Remigijus Žemaitaitis was fined heavily for hate crimes against Jews by a Lithuanian court.

Public service media plays a central role in times of increased disinformation and influence campaigns. Through tougher political pressure, a shrinking budget, and increased pressure on the highest public service leadership, Lithuania now risks taking major steps away from one of the foundations that has made the country a stable liberal democracy: a free and independent public service. This is deeply troubling.