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“In this session, we will try to evaluate those projects as carefully as possible and focus on the quality of the projects, certainly not the quantity,” he told Knowledge Radio on Wednesday.
Speaking about the remote work of the parliament, V.Čmilytė-Nielsen stated that decisions will be made separately before each working week, but he hopes to return to the Seimas soon.
“Of course, in the coming weeks we will probably focus on teleworking, but the goal is to be able to go back to live meetings in April, hoping that the situation in the country improves to such an extent that more and more jobs and institutions educational programs can return to normal, he assured.
Ratification of the Istanbul Convention will not yet be considered
The president of the Seimas confirmed that the consideration of the Association Law is included in the agenda of the spring session. According to her, this issue is old and increasingly backward.
“In 2021, we could already solve some human rights problems,” said V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
He mentioned an updated version of the Domestic Violence Act, the spelling of personal names, and other human rights issues among his future work.
“I think the time has really come to give people the opportunity to write their first and last names as their parents called them,” the Seimas spokesperson commented on the problem of spelling personal names.
Speaking about the Istanbul Convention, V. Čmilytė-Nielsen emphasized that now the focus will be on answers to questions of public interest, and it is too early to talk about ratification.
As for the Istanbul Convention, it was not scheduled to be presented for ratification at the spring session. It is scheduled to be provided in the fall. Clearly, there is a need for discussion, a need to clarify those few concepts that still give rise to doubts and fears that I personally find unfounded.
However, it is obvious that there is a need to discuss and find out what is the social role, gender and if there really are reasons to fear a convention that talks about combating violence against women and girls ”, she said.
When asked how the government plans to communicate at that time, the president of Seimas highlighted education.
“There is a topic of education and discussion here, with the help of opposing camps. People who are known, visible, can also be the so-called influenceriaiand representatives of the clergy, who have their own very clear and skeptical view of the Istanbul Convention.
Regarding the possible negative effects on the educational system or other important areas, it should be remembered that we are one of the few countries that has not ratified this convention. If we look at our neighbors who have ratified, we will probably see that undesirable things have not happened, which often generate fears, ”explained V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
According to her, coalition partners who are skeptical about the convention are also expected to be convinced by the fall.
He sees education as a priority
Commenting on the National Education Agreement and the emerging disagreements between the parties, the President of Seimas stated that the agreement is a strategic document that sets the direction, but does not necessarily define specific tactical steps.
“I consider the current declarations of the presidents of one or another opposition party that it will be difficult to reach an agreement as a negotiating position. <...> I am well aware that practically all parliamentary parties have made the goal of education a top priority in their electoral programs and have spoken of the National Agreement on Education as a particularly important goal.
I think now is the time to address this, without delaying this issue, ”said the president of Seimas.
Part of the laws related to alcohol is imitation.
The Seimas spokesman assured that laws related to alcohol control should reach the agenda in April, and are currently under review. According to V.Čmilytė-Nielsen, some bans simply mimic problem solving.
“Alcoholism is still a pretty serious problem, but you don’t need to tackle it that much, neither by stealing magazines, nor by sounding like a country that is taking the fight against it in a completely inappropriate way, and it is clear that the ban on advertising that may be Easily circumvented by writing it in lowercase, it is certainly not an effective or logical way to combat this serious problem, ”said the president of Seimas.
“I think that after reviewing that package of bans, we will select those who are not working, those who are against common sense, and we will replace them,” he added.
V.Čmilytė-Nielsen also mentioned the Public Procurement Law, emphasizing that it is one of the most important projects that will soon come to the Seimas.
“The overall strategic objective is to make the system more open, transparent and professional. I think we will discuss both the concepts and the mechanism itself on how to achieve it. Without a doubt, this is one of the most responsible decisions,” said V. Čmilytė -Nielsen.
Commenting on the European Council law being prepared by the coalition partners, the president of the Seimas stated that the Liberals had not yet considered it, but reiterated that only the president should discuss EVS with the prime minister.
“It is obvious that now that the issues related to the pandemic are being discussed in the EVS, it would be logical for Lithuania to be represented by the leader who has the executive power in his hands. In my personal opinion, it is without a doubt the best and wisest solution if the president could agree with the prime minister on a rotation without changing the law.
If such a conversation fails, then the initiative will move to the Seimas and we will decide on support in the coalition format, “he said.
The issue of the license of the members of the Seimas will also be considered.
V.Čmilytė-Nielsen said there may be places on the spring session agenda for consideration of Seimas member vacations.
“It just came to our notice then. Given that we are addressing both the Seimas hotel and other outdated issues, which have been constantly postponed, in this legislature, it is natural that the issue of working conditions for Seimas members is one of them.
How we can reach an agreement on those definitions and specific terms is another issue, but I think we will really address this issue, ”he said.
“We have already taken the first steps to sell the Seimas hotel and make other decisions regarding the accommodation of Seimas members and the creation of conditions for work in parliament,” added V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
