2024-05-01 14:59:38
“I would see no reason not to further consider the conclusion of the special commission, since it is about the content. I think that the Seimas, as planned, will go to the adoption stage. And the Ethics and Procedures Commission, in turn, evaluated the procedures,” V. Čmilytė-Nielsen told reporters in the Seimas on Tuesday.
However, the Speaker of the Seimas admits that she is skeptical about some details of the Ethics and Procedures Commission’s conclusion.
“There are several violations found by the Ethics and Procedures Commission (…), but some parts of the conclusion make us smile, such as the fact that the whistleblower’s identity was revealed. It seems to me that this also says something about the weight of this conclusion of the Ethics and Procedures Commission”, said V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
“Everyone knows that columnist Marius Laurinavičius revealed this in the television studio at the beginning of March 2023. And now to state that the special investigation commission has revealed the identity of the whistleblower seems to me to be unsound,” she added.
The Head of the Parliament emphasizes that the members of the Seimas will evaluate these conclusions during the final vote in the Parliament.
“It is necessary to get acquainted with all conclusions and evaluate them. I think this will become an argument in the final decision. This is the significance of the conclusions of the Ethics and Procedures Commission. During the voting at the final stage, some may take them into account, and some may just have an argument to further support the conclusions of the special commission. We will see during the voting,” she said.
The Ethics and Procedures Commission of the Seimas stated on Tuesday that the parliamentary commission that examined the history of the VSD reporter illegally disclosed the identity of Tomas Gailius. The conclusions also state that the chairman of the commission, Vytautas Bakas, acted biased during the investigation, and the parliamentary commission exceeded its powers.
ELTA reminds that on Thursday, the Seimas, after the discussion, approved the conclusions of the temporary commission that investigated the story of the speaker of the VSD.
A week ago, the parliament approved the conclusions of the VSD reporter’s commission after submission, but soon some of the parliamentarians belonging to the opposition appealed to the Constitutional Court (KT), asking to find out whether the parliamentary investigation commission acted legally.
The conclusions contain suggestions related to the parliamentary inquiry carried out. The Seimas is urged to consider amendments to the Law on Intelligence Controllers, giving the ombudsman the rights and duty to supervise the legality of the activities of institutions performing criminal intelligence. It is also proposed to strengthen the parliamentary control of VSD and STT, to review the legal regulation of parliamentary control, so that the institutions are obliged to provide all necessary information to the Seimas. Among the recommendations are calls to ensure the role of the Seimas in appointing and dismissing VSD and STT heads and their deputies.
2024-05-01 14:59:38