Press release, 28 May 2015
The Assembly of Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine opened in the Seimas. Within two days, the sixth session is to deal with the implementation of the Minsk agreements, results of the EU Eastern Partnership Summit held in Riga on 21–22 May 2015 and other relevant issues.
The session opened with the national anthems of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine.
The participants of the Assembly were welcomed by Česlovas Juršėnas, Head of the first Seimas Delegation to the Assembly and Signatory to the Act of 11 March. Touching upon the establishment of the Assembly, first initiatives and work undertaken ten years ago in Lutsk, he expressed satisfaction with the increasing and deepening parliamentary cooperation despite various difficulties. Mr Juršėnas mentioned the particularly difficult situation of Ukraine and urged the participants to engage in an open debate and exchange of views in order to act effectively in the international arena. At the end of his congratulatory address, the former parliamentarian wished the Assembly to work in a spirit of respect and mutual understanding and invited the participants to take heed of the words of Yaroslav the Wise: “If you are mired in jealousy, quarrels and dissension, you will bring about your downfall and lose the ancestral land.”
Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas, noted that the main items on the agenda have been dealt with and taken forward during the decade. “Today, like in 2005, we have set the objectives of further dialogue, regional cooperation, energy security and European integration of Ukraine. This suggests that Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine move towards important changes in a targeted and ambitious manner,” stressed Ms Graužinienė. In her view, priority has to be given to the development of public institutions, their reform and coordination, as well as real assistance to Ukraine. “I am pleased that Lithuania maintains the same consistent position at these meetings,” emphasised the Speaker.
The leader of the parliament is convinced that in condemning Russia’s aggression, we need to go beyond political declarations. “It is time we thought about possible legal mechanisms to ascertain the opinion of the International Court of Justice on the occupation and annexation of Crimea. First of all, we, parliamentarians, have to take advantage of all available forms and tools of parliamentary work. By this I mean communication of leaders as well as activities of parliamentary committees, groups for inter-parliamentary relations, delegations to parliamentary assemblies, political parties and individual parliamentarians. I would like to highlight the independent efforts of states to achieve a real change. Lithuania plays a key role here. Nevertheless, a common position of states is very important,” said Ms Graužinienė.
Welcoming the determination of members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to continue the on-going reforms, the Speaker of the Seimas pointed out that not all tools are used in communicating with the Member States and institutions of the European Union and shedding light on the reforms and achievements. “Closer contact should be kept with relevant European parties because this provides experience and good practice,” said Ms Graužinienė.
The Marshal of the Polish Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz, a ten-year activist of the Assembly, said that Poland has set up many bilateral assemblies with various countries, including Lithuania and Ukraine, while a trilateral Assembly is the only one. In his view, this shows how much significance we attach to regional cooperation. In this parliamentary triangle or the Lutsk Triangle as referred to by the leader of the Senate, two countries are EU and NATO members, while the third one is seeking membership. Mr Borusewicz noted that European integration has always been at the top of the agenda of the Assembly, and Ukraine had had European aspirations already before 2013/2014.
In line with other speakers, the leader of the Polish Senate focused on Ukraine and marked that the Assembly will discuss the possibilities to support the country. However, he noted that the bulk of the responsibility will fall on Ukraine. According to Bogdan Borusewicz, despite difficult conditions of military aggression Ukraine must nonetheless put in place reforms that do not require significant resources, such as public prosecutor’s office and municipal reforms. “Allow us to help you,” he said.
At the end of his speech, the Marshal of the Polish Senate stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation and the need to address problems: “The better we understand and support each other, the more we will be regarded by others”.
Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada, Volodymyr Groysman, stressed that in meeting the current challenges we must take a stance to condemn the aggression and disregard for international law. He said that passive position of Russia on the Minsk agreements calls for our actions. “We maintain that Russia fulfilled none of their items. [...] Despite the declaration of a ceasefire Russia is breaking it almost every day,” the Chairperson of the Ukrainian parliament said.
Mr Groysman declared three main objectives: restoring lasting peace, establishing rules on tougher sanctions against Russia and strengthening Ukraine’s defence. According to the Chairperson of the parliament, passiveness about at least one element of the Minsk agreements would be sufficient grounds for more severe sanctions. Finally, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine marked the importance of systemic reforms in Ukraine which could result in the creation of a modern democratic state in Europe.
The interparliamentary assembly was established in Lutsk, Ukraine, in May 2005. It is a consultative interparliamentary body intended to discuss issues and projects of common interest. The assembly comprises parliamentary delegations from the Lithuanian Seimas, the Polish Sejm and Senate, and the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, ten members each.
Jolanta Anskaitienė, Rimas Rudaitis, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department,
tel. +370 5 239 6508, +370 5 239 6132; e-mails: [email protected], [email protected]
