Press release, 21 April 2015
At the Conference of the Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in Rome, Italy, Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, stressed the need to strengthen political dialogue of national Parliaments with the European Commission and European Parliament. It was the first time in the history of the Lithuanian Parliament that the head of the Seimas was a keynote speaker at such a high-level event.
Addressing the Conference, Loreta Graužinienė noted that national Parliaments wanted and had to be heard. However, the political dialogue held so far between individual national Parliaments and the European Commission was insufficient. According to the leader of the Parliament, the political dialogue had to be strengthened and developed looking for new instruments to promote greater involvement of national Parliaments in the decision-making process of the EU. All of this could be done by using the provisions of the existing Treaties.
The Speaker of the Seimas suggested that the political dialogue be developed along two lines: developing a multilateral political dialogue between national Parliaments and the Commission, and developing a political dialogue between national Parliaments and the European Parliament.
“You know only too well that we can do a great deal if we, national Parliaments, the European Parliament and the European Commission, are consistent and persistent in our joint work. While recovering from the economic crisis today, we must come up with and suggest ways to generate more jobs, to promote economic growth of European countries, to safeguard financial stability in Europe, to improve Europe’s competitiveness, to create an internal market for energy, services and digital economy, and to restore public confidence in the European project. We must also pay particular attention to our collective security, as the geopolitical situation remains complex,” said the Seimas Speaker.
The Conference held discussions on Europe beyond the crisis, fundamental rights of freedom, solidarity and security, the role of parliaments in negotiations on international treaties and other issues topical to the European Union.
Other keynote speakers included Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament; Claude Bartolone, President of the French National Assembly; Mars Di Bartolomeo, President of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies; Zoi Konstantopoulou, Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament; and Anouchka van Miltenburg, Speaker of the Dutch House of Representatives. The Conference was welcomed and presided over by Laura Boldrini, President of the Chamber of Deputies, and Pietro Grasso, President of the Senate of the Italian Republic.
The working visit in Italy also includes a meeting of Loreta Graužinienė with Zoi Konstantopoulou, Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament. Finally, the leader of the Seimas will attend the Wednesday general audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square, Vatican.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6002,
Neringa Mikėnaitė, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas,
+370 5 239 6344, mob. +370 698 42759
