The Lithuanian foreign minister said on Friday a scandal surrounding the Baltic country's President Rolandas Paksas, who is facing impeachment, did not mean its democratic system is flawed.

"I would not say that Lithuania now has problems with democracy. Lithuania maybe has a problem with one person," Antanas Valionis told AFP on the sidelines of a conference on "Democracy beyond the Baltics" in the Latvian capital.

"In the framework of democratic institutions, we will answer clearly all the questions and I have no doubt that Lithuania will be even stronger after everything will be completed," he said.

Paksas, who came to power a year ago, faces the possibility of impeachment after the Vilnius parliament adopted a damning report saying his office had links with organised crime which made him a threat to national security.

A special panel is to recommend to parliament by next Friday on whether a vote to oust Paksas should be held.

Paksas has denied any wrongdoing and insists he will not resign, despite repeated calls from political and church leaders, among them Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas.

Valionis played down the possible effects of Paksas still being under impeachment, or Lithuania without a president, when the former Soviet republic joins the European Union on May 1, saying Paksas would be acting in a legal capacity until removed. If he is forced to step down parliamentary speaker Arturas Paulauskas will step in for two months while new elections are held.

"Everything will work," he said, acknowledging "in a long term perspective it can be a problem for Lithuania's prestige" if the crisis drags on indefinitely.