The initiative is backed by former Ministers of Foreign Affairs and National Defense, Audronius Ažubalis and Rasa Juknevičienė, as well as MPs Vilija Aleknaitė-Abramikienė and Valentinas Stundys.
The Polish Card is a document issued by the Government of Poland to people of Polish origins who are citizens of other countries.
The Lithuanian MPs want the Constitutional Court's clarification whether a member of the Seimas can be a person who has expressed his will to an official of a foreign state to belong to another nation other than the Lithuanian nation, has a document of a foreign state issued under laws of that state and providing for certain political, social, economic and cultural rights in that state, and, under laws of that state, having such a document is related to the person's duty to respect that foreign state and its nation, not to harm security, defense, public order and other fundamental interests of the state and nation.
The MPs remind of the fact that the Constitutional Court ruled in November 1998 that "the Constitution unreservedly requires that a Seimas member take an oath to be loyal to the state of Lithuania only, that he pledge to respect and observe the Constitution and laws."
People holding Polish Cards can receive long-term visas free of charge, get legal employment in Poland, carry out economic activities under the same conditions as Polish citizens, are entitled to free education, emergency medical assistance, 37-percent discount for railway tickets, free access to state museums, and priority right in applications for financial assistance from the Polish state and municipal budgets for supporting Poles living abroad.
Statistics show that Polish Cards are issued to over 1,000 Lithuanian citizens of Polish origin every year. Poland's Embassy in Vilnius told BNS that documents were issued to 1,024 people in 2011 and 1,197 in 2010. There are over 4,000 Polish Card-holders in Lithuania now.
The Seimas already rejected similar requests to turn to the Constitutional Court over the Polish Card in June 2009 and April 2011.
