Lithuanian president's requests on ambassadors may violate separation of powers – ministry

VILNIUS – The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it will respond to an inquiry from President Gitanas Nauseda's office about selection procedures for ambassadorial candidates, but added that such requests may have signs of exceeding constitutional powers.

The chancellor of the president's office wrote to the Foreign Ministry's chancellor on Tuesday, asking her to provide Nauseda with documents on the selection procedures carried out by the ministry to fill the positions of the heads of Lithuania's diplomatic missions, including the embassy to Poland.

Paulina Levickyte, spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, told BNS on Wednesday that the inquiry will be answered "in accordance with the procedure laid down by law".

"It should be noted that the minister has provided the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs with a detailed chronology of the depoliticized selection procedure for the heads of diplomatic institutions and the procedure for the approval of candidates," the spokeswoman said.  

"The president's adviser was also present at the meeting," she added.  

Levickyte noted that, under the Constitution, the president appoints and recalls Lithuania's diplomatic representatives to foreign states "upon submission by the government". 

"The president's representatives or the chancellor are not granted any rights or powers in the procedure of candidate selection and submission," the spokeswoman said.

"Therefore, such requests may have signs of exceeding constitutional powers and may violate the principle of separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution," she added.

The president's office proposes to change the Foreign Ministry's procedure for appointing ambassadors.

According to Frederikas Jansonas, an adviser to Nauseda, it could be similar to the procedure for appointing judges, where the president is informed about all candidates in the selection process, not just the first-ranked one.

The proposal comes amid continuing disagreements over the appointment of the Lithuanian ambassador to Poland.