Press release, 26 March 2013
The fifth session of 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 has started today in Warsaw. During the session, Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, focused mainly on the Eastern Partnership policy, the upcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and Vilnius Summit where the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is expected to be signed, aiming to search for common solutions to energy problems and address issues of cultural cooperation.
Mr Gedvilas reminded that the importance of neighbourhood policy was highlighted at the inaugural Eastern Partnership Summit in Prague, Czech Republic, on 7 May 2009. Later on, it was embedded in a statement of the Assembly during the session in Lublin, Poland. The Speaker of the Seimas underlined that it was already back then that the EU-Ukraine political association and economic integration with the prospect of membership was recognised as a common priority.
“Four years on, we have a more specific goal, a hope and a belief that the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement will be signed not in an indefinite future but this November in Vilnius. I am convinced that this should be the principal objective of the trilateral Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Assembly at the moment. We know what is necessary for this goal to be attained and what the EU requirements are. We commend the move of our colleagues at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt a Statement on 22 February 2013 on Implementation of European Integration Aspirations of Ukraine and Conclusion of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union whereby they expressed the strong will of different political powers on this matter,” Mr Gedvilas said.
Speaking about the neighbouring Belarus, the Speaker of the Seimas took note of the endeavours made towards better neighbourhood. “It has been argued time and again that the isolation of the citizens of Belarus is not the best way to act. Therefore, in light of the existing possibilities, efforts were made to lower the cost of visas for the citizens of this country. The practical implementation of the visa-free regime for the citizens living within 50 kilometres of the Lithuania-Belarus border seemed promising, allowing 800 000 citizens to move back and forth from one country to another. Unfortunately, all of these efforts remain mere aspirations for better neighbourhood; in 2009 in Lublin, though, they all seemed to be attainable in an easy and rapid way.”
Mr Gedvilas suggested Members of the Assembly not to limit their actions to mere statements adopted during the sessions when addressing energy problems. Instead, he offered to consider the opportunity to establish committees, in line with the Statue of the Assembly, which could deliberate key issues in-between the sessions.
Discussing the opportunities of cultural cooperation of the three countries, the Speaker of the Seimas recalled the debates in previous sessions on the establishment of an Assembly prize for merits in developing scientific and cultural relations between the three countries. Among other, it was then concluded that cooperation in education on academic level is necessary for the development of the Eastern Partnership area. The necessity to promote awareness of the historical community of Eastern Europe was also acknowledged. “All of this should not be forgotten, and we should aspire to implement these important matters in light of the existing possibilities,” Mr Gedvilas underlined.
Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, Bronius Bradauskas, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Budget and Finance, Valentinas Bukauskas, Chair of the Seimas Committee on State Administration and Local Authorities, Leonard Talmont, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Human Rights, and Members of the Seimas Petras Gražulis, Kęstutis Masiulis, Arvydas Vidžiūnas and Mečislovas Zasčiurinskas are taking part in the session of 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 being held on 25–27 of March 2013 in Warsaw, Poland.
The Assembly is a consultative parliamentary institution for addressing the issues and projects of common interest. The Assembly consists of ten members from each institution: the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The first session of the Assembly was held on 15–16 June 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine. A declaration was adopted and the Statute of the Assembly was approved during the first session. Following the Statute, the Assembly sessions are held once a year in one of the states on a rotating basis.
Other sessions of the Assembly were held on 25–26 June 2009 in Lublin, Poland; on 7–8 October 2010 in Vilnius, Lithuania; on 21–22 March 2011 in Kiev, Ukraine.
Jolanta Anskaitienė, Public Relations Unit, tel: +370 5 239 6508, e-mail: jolanta.anskaitienė@lrs.lt
