The Lithuanian parliament is seeking to close shopping centres in the country during bank holidays. 

Starting from 1st January next year, the bill would force closures of all shopping centres in the country for its 15 bank holidays.

Unsurprisingly, the retail trade has been angered by the move. The executive director of the Association of Lithuanian Trade Enterprises, Laurynas Vilimas, said he hopes parliament will change its mind. He explained that it would be extremely costly to the sector with consumers also being left disappointed.

Speaking on radio station, Ziniu Radijas, he added, “such a prohibition is harmful to everyone and, first of all, to the consumer. Consumers have expressed their opinion many times that shopping centres should work on bank holidays. It is unthinkable to businesses that such a proposal could be discussed, let alone adopted. Businesses are hoping that the government will calculate how many million euro it will cost the state.”

The bill will be put to a vote in the next sitting of the Seimas, the country’s parliament, likely to be later in the month.