The Management Security Service (MSS) this week registered amendments to the law that would pave the way for temporary structures near President Gitanas Nausėda's house in Pavilniai Regional Park, the news portal "15min" reported on Saturday.
One of the service's proposals is to amend the Law on Special Land Use Conditions so that structures are not prohibited in state parks when they are installed to ensure the activities of the IRS.
Currently, according to "15min", this is only allowed to be done while ensuring the protection of the state border and the operation of the state seaport.
In the explanatory note to the project, the VAT indicates that it faces a problem when a protected person lives in parks, natural and cultural heritage areas and the service, ensuring the safety of him and his place of residence, must install security measures and posts.
According to the VAT, it is denied permission to construct structures, movable objects or installations necessary for protection, because the law does not provide for such a possibility.
The Presidential Palace did not comment on these legislative initiatives to "15min". In turn, VAT Director Rymantas Mockevičius told the portal that one of the goals of the project is to ensure equal protection of all persons protected by the state.
Rūta Lapinskienė, Deputy Director of the State Service for Protected Areas, told "15min" that the service will still submit comments on this project to the Ministry of the Environment, although it will only have to be coordinated with the Pavilniai and Verkiai Regional Parks Directorate.
R. Lapinskienė viewed the proposal of the VAT skeptically, since the amendment addresses the issue of protecting one person, albeit the head of the country, while the Pavilniai and Verkiai Regional Parks Directorate evaluated the initiative favorably.
As noted by "15min", in addition to G. Nausėda, protection is provided at home to the Speaker of the Seimas, Saulius Skvernelis, who lives in the outskirts of Vilnius, and Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas, who has not yet moved to Turniškis, but neither of them lives in the protected area.
BNS reported that G. Nausėda, who was first elected president in 2019, refused to move to Turniškis and remained living in his home in Pavilniai. The Presidential Office stated at the time that this decision was made after assessing the cost of renovating the residence.
As last year's presidential election approached, the then-ruling conservatives sought to oblige the country's leaders to live in a residence in Turniškės.
At the time, G. Nausėda criticized such an initiative, claiming that the obligation would violate a person's right to live in a place of their choice, and after being re-elected for a second term, he continued to live in his own house.
[email protected], Lithuanian news department
