Prezidentė Dalia Grybauskaitė

„I have signed three laws that are most important for the State and for every Lithuanian. This was not an easy decision to take. But I have to take responsibility for stability in the country. This is the only way if we want to guarantee stable income for all people of the country, even if this income is lower. If I refused to sign the laws passed by the Seimas, international markets would not lend to Lithuania and the Government would not be able to pay salaries or pensions," the President said.

According to the President, this decision, and understanding and solidarity on the part of citizens, demonstrates that Lithuania can do on its own in the time of economic downturn. By passing the budget and by setting saving measures, Lithuania avoids the need to borrow from the IMF which would mean much higher cuts of social payments and much higher tax increases.

Because certain provisions of the temporary law on recalculation of social payments are on the verge of constitutional incompliance, the President has demanded that the law provided for a compensation of the temporary cuts of social payments. The Government has to come up, by July 2010, with a clear-cut mechanism of compensating the cuts of social payments; the mechanism would become effective after the period of two years, as soon as the law on recalculation of social payments goes out of force.

The President assures that she will personally monitor the Government's actions to make sure that the compensating mechanism is effective and that taxpayers' money is used in a transparent and cost-efficient manner.

The President also demands a radical and fundamental social reform, the guidelines for which are to be submitted by the Government by 1 March 2010.