The adopted law on safeguards relating to the sale of farmland in Lithuania infringes on the constitutional rights of Lithuanian citizens, apart from putting restrictions on land purchase by foreigners. Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaitė requested that the government should eliminate regulatory weaknesses and warned against placing excessive restrictions on those willing to work land.
The lawmakers put a restriction on the purchase of land in excess of 500 hectares, ignoring the Lithuanian Constitution which states that the Lithuanian economy is based on private ownership and individual economic freedom and initiative. Animal farmers though will be able to buy more land depending on the number of their livestock.
Buyers of farmland will be required to have at least three years of farming experience or to have at least a higher education diploma in agriculture or a related field. In order to buy more than 10 hectares, a permission will be needed from the National Land Service.
LFMI argued the immorality of the state’s mistrust of citizens and encroachment on their legitimate assets and decisions regarding the use of private property.
