"First of all, we have the budget that was prepared to a high standard and failed to receive any major criticism, I would say rightly so, and this is very important work. It was also adopted earlier than usual, which lowered the debate temperature, although we had some bickering. I would say key work of the fall session has been successfully completed," Cmilyte-Nielsen told reporters on the eve of the session's end.
However, she regrets over the fact that progress on human rights has been slower than she would have liked.
"Traditionally, I would like to see bigger steps in the area of human rights as we are still moving slow. On the other hand, the progress that has been made is greater than ever, and that gives me hope," the speaker said.
The Seimas fall session's program initially included a bill on the legalization of civil unions, but as the opposition objected and the parliament's liberal flank failed to get sufficient support, the bill that would have legalized same-sex relationships eventually failed to reach the debate stage.
Also, lawmakers debated amendments on the decriminalization of small quantities of cannabis, and they agreed to make it an administrative offense, but at the same time failed to remove cannabis from the Criminal Code.