Press release, 11 March 2013
Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, welcomed Eero Heinäluoma, Speaker of the Eduskunta of the Republic of Finland, who arrived at the Seimas on a very special day for Lithuania, the Day of Restoration of Independence. Mr Gedvilas stressed that cooperation between Finland, other Nordic and Baltic countries is among Lithuania’s key priorities.
Eero Heinäluoma and Vydas Gedvilas. Photo by Olga Posaškova (Office of the Seimas)
In his turn, Mr Heinäluoma, Speaker of the Eduskunta of the Republic of Finland, extended congratulations to Lithuania on the Occasion of Restoration of Independence and assured that he understood how significant that day was for Lithuania.
Possibilities for inter-parliamentary cooperation and priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU were discussed during the meeting. The two Speakers also exchanged their opinions on Lithuania’s and Finland’s experience in the energy sector. Speaker of the Seimas expressed his hope that Members of the Finnish Parliament would take part in all the parliamentary dimension events of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Speaker of the Eduskunta of the Republic of Finland said that he believed Lithuania would make the best use of the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Recalling the Finnish presidency experience Mr Heinäluoma said he thought that the presidency provided the country with a unique opportunity to acquire valuable experience by taking part in the decision-making of the EU. The guest also stressed he believed that cooperation between Lithuania and Finland would become much closer and invited Mr Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, to pay a visit to Finland.
Lithuanian and Finnish Parliaments enjoy close cooperation on various political levels: the Nordic-Baltic States Cooperation Programme (NB8), the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Baltic Assembly. The Seimas of this legislative period has set up the Group for Inter-parliamentary Relations with North European Countries. The activities of the Group are expected to contribute to closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting with the delegation of the Eduskunta was also attended by Vytautas Gapšys, the First Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, Irena Degutienė, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas, Prof Benediktas Juodka, Chairman of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Arūnas Jievaltas, Lithuanian Ambassador in the Republic of Finland.
The Finnish guests also attended the Solemn Sitting of the Seimas and the ceremony of hoisting the flags of the Baltic States in the Independence Square.
The delegation of Finland paid a working visit to Lithuania on 10-11 March 2013. The delegation of the Speaker of the Eduskunta also included Pekka Ravi, First Deputy Speaker of the Eduskunta, and Simo Rundgren, Member of the Eduskunta.
Asta Markevičienė, Public Relations Unit, phone +370 5 239 6202, e-mail: [email protected]
