President Gentvil’s candidacy is welcome, but public support will also be needed.

According to the president, the candidate is professionally prepared for this position. However, it is also very important that you have to convince the part of society that is not satisfied with the situation in the field of environmental protection at the moment that you are ready to take up that position, “said A. Bubnelis during a press conference on Tuesday.

The adviser stated that during the conversation between G. Nausėda and S. Gentvilas on Tuesday, “the evaluations of the candidate and the president on the need to establish more ambitious factors of climate change in Lithuania agreed,” as well as the objective that the environment and climate change .

According to him, specific topics were also discussed: Punia Šilo, problems of the Žuvintas reserve, erosion of the coasts of the Baltic Sea.

Priority works were also discussed – strengthening of state control, review of environmentally unfavorable fiscal benefits, protection of the Natura 2000 network, agreement on protection of forests and protected areas, need to seek solutions “on sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices” with the Ministry of Agriculture.

S. Gentvilas, for his part, said that the president emphasized the vision of “green Lithuania” that environmental protection should be one of the country’s priorities.

“The ambitions here are dictated not only by Europe, but also by Lithuania. In our President’s opinion, Lithuania should follow a much more ambitious policy. And one of the tasks of the Government that is now being formed is that we respond to the environment and see it. as a priority ”, said the candidate for minister.

According to him, many issues were discussed with the president, from industrial development, transport, fiscal policy to agricultural priorities and climate change goals, which will also be discussed in the European Council.

Punia would offer reserve status for heat

Gentville says he has provided the president’s team with “a green folder” with the decisions he would make in the first week of work. One of them is the granting of reserve status to the Punia wasteland in the Alytus district.

“In the first place, due to the full protection of the Žuvintas reserve. In the first week it would be possible to do so both by order of the Minister and by presenting draft resolutions of the Government,” said the parliamentarian.

“At the same time, we talked with the president about the Silo Punia, and I thought it was a clear and direct response to return the initiative to grant reserve status to the entire territory of the Silo Punia from the first week,” he said.

According to S. Gentvilas, the reserve status for the entire territory of Punia Silos could be granted within six months.

We talked about the Silo de Punia, and I thought it was a clear and simple answer to return the initiative to grant reserve status to the entire Silo de Punia from the first week.

The candidate said that there was “consensus” on key issues with the head of state, and that the main task of the new government was to negotiate decisions with the public.

“The great task of the Government, not only the Minister of the Environment, is a discussion with the public, with business associations, with the agricultural sector on the implementation of these objectives. In Lithuania, too often, the public sector takes only the principle of a busier: it imposes a cartel, changes taxes, but the sector itself and society go in parallel, there is no discussion with it, ”said S. Gentvilas.

“The president’s big request and the big questions were whether the Government, together with Lithuanian society and business associations, could change course to become a European member state, which is perhaps not the main promoter of the green course, to become in one of the leaders in this field. I am convinced that it must be done, because it is morally correct and good for us, our economy, “said the politician.

S. Gentvilas emphasized that specific priorities to reduce pollution in cities were also discussed, for example, the Government program considered the possibility of contemplating the goal of only fossil fuel-free public transport operating in metropolitan areas by 2025.

“This requires tax and regulatory reforms that must be addressed in context,” he said.

On Tuesday, after G. Nausėda’s meeting with the appointed prime minister Ingrida Šimonyte, his spokesperson A. Bubnelis emphasized that the head of the country has doubts about some of the ministerial candidates. The representative of the president did not reveal the specific names, but assured that it was agreed to look for other candidates. I. Šimonytė herself states that this will be decided when the president meets with all the ministerial candidates.

The president has already met with eight of the 14 ministerial candidates.