Press release, 7 October 2013
On her official visit to Tbilisi, Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, met with David Usupashvili, Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia. She welcomes the wish of Georgia to approximate to the European Union to the largest extent and as soon as possible.
The Speaker of the Seimas said that Georgia had done substantial work in the course of EU integration, therefore it naturally had high expectations of the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Vilnius in November. In the opinion of the Speaker of the Seimas, we – Lithuania and the EU – also have high expectations. It is so because we have always considered Georgia and its people as real and true friends and allies of Lithuania.
In her address to the international parliamentary conference “Georgia before the Vilnius Summit: Role of the Parliament in the EU Integration Process”, Loreta Graužinienė stressed the following: “I personally have never doubted Georgia’s decision to follow the European course. I have also never doubted that on the way to democracy parliaments in all free countries take the central role in ensuring the will of the people, decisions of voters and the constitutionality of the state. The format of parliamentary diplomacy has been and continues to be the course to be followed by the Eastern Partnership countries in the further process of democratisation and their approximation to Europe. It is the right direction; therefore, I would like firstly to wish the Parliament of Georgia, the Government and the diplomatic corps patience, determination and success in attaining all the goals set on the path towards European integration.”
Lithuania has named the EU Eastern Partnership initiative as one of the most important aspects of its Presidency of the Council of the EU which is aimed at supporting those wishing to join free Europe.
During the visit to Georgia, Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, and the delegation under her leadership are also to meet with Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia; Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister of Georgia; Tedo Japaridze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Parliament of Georgia; and His Holiness and Beatitude Ilia II, Patriarch of All-Georgia.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6002
