Press release, 24 September 2013
Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Victor Ponta, Prime Minister of Romania.
The Speaker of the Seimas highlighted that both countries needed to enhance interparliamentary cooperation which was insufficiently active as of late. “The fact that this is the first visit of the Romanian Prime Minister to Lithuania also demonstrates that we have to engage and cooperate more actively,” Mr Gedvilas said.
He thanked Romania for its past participation in the Baltic air policing mission and suggested looking into opportunities to participate in yet another one in future.
The Prime Minister conveyed to Mr Gedvilas the invitation extended by the leader of the Romanian Parliament to come to Romania for an official visit. The Speaker of the Seimas said the visit would take place next year, after the end of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
According to Mr Ponta, Romania and Lithuania have a shared interest in the exploration of shale gas. “In our country, a sizeable number of NGOs are against this. I never knew about the existence of most of them before the protests. In any case, I understand people’s environmental concerns. Therefore, everything needs to be done in compliance with the environmental requirements in force,” Mr Ponta noted.
He underscored the efforts of Moldova, Romania’s neighbour, to follow the path of European integration. “We will put joint efforts to make sure that Moldova comes one step closer to EU accession in November 2013,” Prime Minister of Romania said.
Tomas Beržinskas, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6019, mob. +370 698 42786,
e-mail: [email protected]
