According to her, instead of the citizens’ position, a vote in the Seimas adjusting the Constitution would be sufficient.
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Now the Constitution stipulates that weapons of mass destruction cannot be present on Lithuanian territory.
“We can address this issue by voting in the Seimas. A referendum is not needed in this case, but a broad consensus, a wide political agreement is necessary, because in such cases 94 votes are required (to amend the Constitution – BNS). And here, not even the (ruling – BNS) coalition or part of this coalition with part of the opposition will solve such an issue. A broad consensus and such an agreement are needed, which usually existed in Lithuania regarding security policy,” she said to Žinių radijas on Friday.
However, V. Čmilytė-Nielsen says a quick decision is needed: “The issue is very relevant and again, it is not something that can be delayed.”
According to her, the Constitution now clearly limits Lithuania’s ability to be under such a nuclear umbrella.
“We need to supplement the national defense agreement with a constitutional amendment regarding nuclear weapons. Of course, we can avoid long discussions, but it would be very useful for parliamentary parties, the main political forces, to agree on perhaps a short list of essential tasks that we need to accomplish in the defense sector so that when one or another initiative is pursued, we know that we will not get involved in discussions lasting half a year or two Seimas sessions on issues that should have been addressed yesterday,” the parliamentarian said.
“I think that amending Article 137 of the Constitution (– BNS) is definitely worth not only theoretical consideration but already starting to prepare for it,” added V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
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Last year, the then Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė hinted at the possibility of amending the Constitution. At that time, she said that it should be considered if allies proposed real plans for the deployment of nuclear weapons or their components in Lithuania.
At that time, the current minister Robertas Kaunas stated in March that Lithuania trusts the deterrence provided by the USA, although France plans to increase its number of nuclear warheads and offers Europe its nuclear umbrella.
BNS wrote that at the beginning of March, French President Emmanuel Macron presented the idea of creating a new European nuclear deterrence scheme.
According to the vision presented by E. Macron, partner countries in Europe could temporarily host France’s strategic air forces with nuclear weapons.
More intense discussions on this issue arose when G. Nausėda vetoed the new version of the Klaipėda State Seaport Law, stating that the version adopted by the Seimas allows ships with nuclear weapons to enter Lithuania, although the Constitution does not permit this. The Seimas approved the veto.
