Brussels asks Lithuania to scrap priority right for port land lease

"If Lithuania fails to inform the Commission about measures taken to ensure full compliance with EU law within two months, the Commission could refer the case to the EU Court of Justice," the EU executive body said in a press release on Thursday.

The Commission says that Lithuania maintains the priority right for cargo-handling operators to renew their port land lease contracts after expiry, which poses a barrier for operators from other member states wishing to enter the market for cargo-handling services.

"Despite the fact that Lithuania has not contested that the priority right to renew the port land lease contract is incompatible with the freedom of establishment, the provisions amending this regime have not yet been adopted and Lithuania still does not comply with the EU law," it said.

The Law on the Klaipėda State Seaport, which was adopted before Lithuania's EU accession and is still in effect, gives companies working at the port a priority right to renew their land lease contracts with the port's authority and continue their operations.

The Transport Ministry said in early June that it had worked out a draft amendment and supplement to the law aimed at creating equal conditions for companies based in Lithuania and other EU countries to lease port land. The document is being reviewed by interested institutions before being submitted to the government and then the parliament for approval.