The burning of a Quran in central Vilnius and a confrontation outside a mosque in Kaunas have intensified a debate in Lithuania over immigration, integration and who is responsible for rising social tensions.
A video showing a Quran, Islam’s holy book, being burned in central Vilnius was published over the weekend. Police said the incident itself had taken place earlier, on September 13.
The episode followed an incident outside a mosque in Kaunas, where bikers brought a pig’s head and shouted and sang during Muslim prayers. The incident also included reported threats against members of the Muslim community.
Mufti Aleksandras Beganskas said he had heard threats that included promises to burn the mosque and harm him and his family.
The incidents have prompted politicians to offer sharply different explanations for what is driving tensions in Lithuanian society.
Some say political rhetoric is contributing to the problem.
“There are specific names – I won’t name them – five names that are inciting discord in society,” said MP Tomas Tomilinas, a member of the Democratic Union “For Lithuania” parliamentary faction.
Tomas Tomilinas (J. Stacevičius / LRT)
Others argue that immigration itself is contributing to social tensions and are calling for tighter limits on the number of foreign workers allowed into Lithuania.
“It is time to send a message to society that we are reducing the immigrant quota,” conservative Homeland Union party leader Laurynas Kasčiūnas said.
Under Lithuanian law, the annual quota for foreign workers can reach 1.4% of the country’s population, or about 40,000 people. The quota for this year was set at 0.9%, equivalent to nearly 25,000 workers.
Kasčiūnas is proposing to cut the quota to 0.4%, which would allow roughly 10,000 foreign workers to enter the country each year, with exemptions for highly skilled professionals.
Laurynas Kasčiūnas (E. Blažys / LRT)
He has also called for greater scrutiny of the countries from which migrants are recruited.
“The State Security Department should assess which direction is more compatible with our values,” Kasčiūnas said. He suggested that Lithuania could look more closely to Latin America, describing its predominantly Catholic countries as culturally closer to Lithuania. He added jokingly that the region also “plays football well”.
The proposal has drawn criticism from politicians who warn that sharply reducing immigration could have economic consequences.
Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, leader of the Liberal Movement, said reducing the quota could increase unemployment.
“Unemployment in Lithuania would likely increase further, and it is already twice as high as in Poland,” she said. “I would say we need a discussion involving society and an explanation of what the consequences would be.”
Tomilinas said Lithuanian companies had become heavily reliant on foreign workers.
“I think we should try to ensure that a Lithuanian is employed in every job – even long-haul truck drivers,” he said. “But unfortunately, 70% to 80% are foreigners. Our businesses are operating ‘on foreigners’. That’s the situation.”
The government itself is divided over whether the current system needs to be changed.
The Social Security and Labour Ministry is responsible for setting the annual quota and is currently calculating how many foreign workers Lithuania will need next year.
“We are definitely calculating it. So far, I don’t see very serious arguments for increasing it. We will calculate it for next year and see whether there is an opportunity to reduce it,” Social Security Minister Inga Ruginienė said.
Ruginienė said the current system was strict and functioning.
“The strict system we have today works, and we believe it will continue to work,” she said.
Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas takes a different view.
“I have to admit that the quota system is not working. We need to think about changes, and I am already thinking about them. A model is being prepared,” he said.
Katelynas has said Lithuania’s immigration policy will become stricter and that he plans to prepare a new migration policy model within several months.
The annual quota of how many foreign workers companies can bring into the country was exhausted in early September, adding pressure to a debate that businesses say needs a clearer long-term direction.
Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, said the absence of a consistent migration policy was allowing the issue to become increasingly political.
“The lack of migration policy is also what leads to everyone having their own opinion and recipe,” he said. “We see that this issue has become completely political, with politicians competing with each other over who can propose stricter regulation as they begin their election campaigns.”
The debate comes as the number of foreigners living in Lithuania has grown. According to the Migration Department, arrivals from predominantly Muslim countries have increased since 2024, particularly from Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Overall, about 220,000 foreigners live in Lithuania, accounting for nearly 8% of the country’s population. Most of them, however, come from Ukraine and Belarus.
An article written by Aistė Valiauskaitė, Goda Malinauskaitė, LRT TV, LRT.lt (LRT_EN), initially published on 23 September 2026, 08:19 (CEST)