Government proposes to declare a state of emergency throughout Lithuania

Andrius Palionis, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, says that due to the heavy rainfall, the government will be proposing to declare an emergency across Lithuania next week. 

„The Interim Prime Minister (Rimantas Šadžius – BNS) has no objection to this (...). We (the ministry – BNS) have already prepared a draft resolution," Palionis told BNS on Friday.  

A. Palionis said a quick decision by the government is important.

„For us, this is not about some compensation, but about fulfilling our European commitments, which are until 15 August. So that farms are not penalised. It is now more important for farms to harvest their crops rather than mowing their meadows," the deputy minister told BNS.   

According to Edmundas Narmontas, head of the Situation Management Bureau of the National Crisis Management Centre, more than ten municipalities have already declared an emergency situation. 

„At the moment, municipalities continue to declare emergencies and, to my knowledge, more than ten municipalities have already done so,– he told BNS.  

He said that the Centre has submitted the situation assessment to the decision makers and the government's decision on whether or not to declare an emergency will be taken in the near future 

E. According to Mr Narmont, the Centre has not received any requests from any municipality to provide pumps or protect critical infrastructure. 

The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has proposed declaring a Lithuania-wide emergency due to the high rainfall this week and has contacted the National Crisis Management Centre.

According to Minister Ignas Hofmannas, the prolonged rainy period has delayed the harvest, and declaring an emergency would allow for a more flexible response to farmers' payment commitments.