Press release, 20 November 2015

 

Towards the end of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Baltic Assembly (BA), a press conference of the heads of parliaments of the three Baltic States was held.

Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; Eiki Nestor, President of the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia; and Ināra Mūrniece, Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, discussed the relevant economic and energy projects and the new challenges to the Baltic States. “The emerging threat of terrorism is a huge challenge for Europe and the rest of the world. The Baltic States approach this challenge very seriously. However, we should not forget that emerging threats should not divert the attention from the core objective of the three Baltic countries, on which we have worked together for many years in a targeted way. I am referring to the Eastern Partnership programme. The three heads of parliaments have a shared opinion that it is our obligation to keep on track in this area and prevent even the most challenging events from overshadowing this initiative. It is our moral right to help the people who have been fighting for the democratic path and the path towards the European family. We cannot leave them alone in this critical situation. In the near future, the leaders of the Nordic and Baltic countries intend to travel to Ukraine and meet with the officials of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and other civil servants,” the Speaker of the Seimas said.

 The heads of parliaments also discussed the prospects for energy cooperation in the Baltic States. “We discussed the future and looked into what could follow after we complete the joint projects on our agenda and how the current networks would be synchronised. We talked on the potential of our LNG terminal. Also, it is no secret that there is a strong likelihood that we will be able to import fuel from the United States of America in the near future,” Loreta Graužinienė said.

 

Photos of the Seimas Office (author Olga Posaškova)

 

 The Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia, Inara Mūrniece, argued that energy security would be a top priority for the Latvian Presidency of the Baltic Assembly: “We must work together and strengthen our cooperation in the military field and better protect the external borders of the European Union. We need to speed up the implementation of this task. The Baltic States need to promote new initiatives and various projects, such as the Rail Baltica, as such projects can bring benefit to all the Baltic States. Of course, the question of energy is a crucial part of our agenda.”

The President of the Estonian Parliament, Eiki Nestor, in reply to the question on whether his country was changing its approach to refugees after the events in France, observed that the share of critical and intolerant population remained unchanged. However, he expressed the opinion that Estonia could easily take in 500 refugees. Moreover, the President of the Riigikogu pointed out that, following the terrorist attacks in Paris, the public now had a chance to get an even better understanding of why people flee from countries such as Syria: they are fleeing to Europe precisely because of the threat of terrorist attacks and in order to save their lives.”

 

 

Justė Radzevičiūtė-Laugalienė, Public Relations Unit, Communications Department, Office of the Seimas, tel. + 370 5 239 6210, e-mail: [email protected]