Nausėda refused to support the LGBTQ Declaration: This is not the way to go

He claimed to have made this decision because “problems are not dealt with in letters.”

“Yes, we did not sign it, because I am convinced that the letters do not solve the problems,” G. Nausėda told reporters in Brussels on Thursday before the EU summit.

He spoke of a letter signed by 17 EU leaders in the run-up to the community summit, triggered by Hungary’s adoption of a law prohibiting minors from accessing any LGBTQ material.

Although Hungary is not explicitly mentioned in the letter, the document condemns “threats to fundamental rights, in particular the principle of non-discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation”.

At the time, Lithuania supported a letter signed by 13 EU countries on Tuesday expressing “serious concern” about the law passed in Hungary.

It was signed by Arnoldas Pranckevičius, then Deputy Foreign Minister, who was present at the General Affairs Council in Brussels. Chancellor Landsbergis told BNS that this was done on his initiative.

“The stigmatization of LGBTIQ people violates their fundamental right to dignity, guaranteed by the EU Charter and international law,” the letter said Tuesday.

Says no one can specify

G. Nausėda said he hoped that in autumn Lithuania would be able to regulate same-sex relations, after considering all the arguments and respecting the country’s Constitution and other laws.

“We will do this as a sovereign state,” the president said.

“No one can point to us or give directives on how we should approach this issue, whose existence I recognize and I really want the civilized rights of these people to be guaranteed,” he added.

In the spring, the Lithuanian Seimas rejected a law that would introduce a gender-neutral association. The initiators promise to return the improved law again in the fall.