Lithuania mulls restricting shopping centers' opening hours

Shopping centers in Lithuania should not be allowed to open on Christmas Eve or Easter, and working hours on Sundays are also to remain the subject of further discussions, Lithuania's minister of social affairs Linas Kukuraitis said on Monday.

"The ministry is in favor of a way of social dialogue. We start at a minimum point with the further prospect to ban opening hours (for shopping centers) on Sundays," Kukuraitis was quoted as saying by local media after a meeting of ministerial officials, trade unions and representatives of retail companies.

According to the minister, the current compromise is to ban shopping centers from opening on Christmas and Easter days, but said it remains an "open question" as regards working hours of shopping malls in Lithuania on Sundays.

Kukuraitis said the current debates concern the working hours of the largest shopping centers in Lithuania, however, the list of specific retailers has yet to be made.

The Lithuanian government has started negotiations with retailers and trade unions in order to find a compromise on limiting working hours of shopping centers on national holidays. Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis suggested earlier that limiting shopping centers' opening hours on Sundays could help to reduce the concentration of large supermarkets and prevent the price increase of major products.

Laurynas Vilimas, a head of Lithuania's Association of Retail Companies, suggested the decision should be further analyzed.

"It is dangerous for the businesses as many in Europe have chosen the way of liberalization as regards working hours of shopping centers," Vilimas noted.

Currently, Lithuanian shopping malls and supermarkets are open seven days a week from early morning until some 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. in the evening.