Y. E. President of the Republic of Lithuania,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Colleagues,
It is a pleasure to welcome you here in the
building of the Seimas taking part in the conference 5 Years of EU
Membership: Lithuanias European Policy. I believe that we will not only
discuss the experience of our EU membership today, since five years is a rather
short period of time to gain the experience and try to evaluate it. I hope that
the five-year period will be overviewed in a wider context in order to answer the
questions - what does Lithuania mean in Europe, what are Lithuanias political
goals or aspirations? Do Lithuanian and European policies stand for the same
thing? There are many questions and probably more of them will be raised in todays
discussion of politicians, the academic community, representatives of NGOs and
other institutions who will share their positions. The issues discussed will
include our membership prospects, Lithuanias contribution to forming the EU
agenda, the impact of EU membership on the Lithuanian economy, and finally,
certain guidelines for the development of the EU, as we all know, the process
of the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, establishing a greater role of
national parliaments in the EU legislative process has not been concluded yet.
Today we really have an excellent opportunity to express our joy and note that
5 years ago Lithuania reached one of its strategic goals: together with other
nine Central and Eastern European states it became a member of the EU. Thus,
today we do not only feel the benefits of the membership but also face certain
challenges for our present and future since our future depends on our present.
These include challenges for the international financial system, the model of
the European social market, the energy policy, etc. I believe that with our
joint efforts we will overcome those challenges.
Colleagues, I assume that you will agree with
me that this day, first of all, means Lithuanias historic return to the family
of European nations, as well as the restoration of the historic truth after
occupations, deportations, and other disasters that we experienced in the
previous century. Five years ago, Lithuanian people clearly demonstrated their
European choice during the referendum, the choice of the European identity of
the Lithuanian nation and of the European ties and cultural heritage that
Lithuania cherished for ages. The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania
acknowledged this aspect in its recent resolution underlining the importance of
the five-year EU membership to a more rapid and comprehensive development of
the state, democracy, security, and stability. According to the President of
the European Parliament, who visited the Seimas a week a go and met with the
citizens of the Baltic States, the European Union, first of all, is the union
of values, and peace in the continent is the key though not the sole reason
for its existence. Yes, free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital
remains an attractive and visible benefit of the EU membership. Public opinion
polls show that it is economic factors that have determined this wide support
for EU membership among Lithuanian people throughout the period. Our future
expectations are to a great extent related to this. Nevertheless, today we must
not forget that democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and
solidarity of nations did not always prevail in our continent. It is only
twenty years ago that we witnessed the Baltic Human Chain and the collapse of
the Berlin Wall. Tomorrow, together with the other 26 EU member states, we will
celebrate Europe Day. All member states are different, but at the same time
they are similar and inseparable. Thus, today we are probably five hundred
million rather than three million.
As we joined the EU we undertook to follow its
basic principles and objectives, provided for in the Treaty establishing the
European Communities and subsequent treaties of Amsterdam, Maastricht and Niece
- to make the union of European nations closer, to ensure the economic and
social progress of the member states, the development of knowledge, access to
education, and sustainable development, to promote balanced trade and fair
competition, to reduce the gap between the regions, to foster solidarity, and to
recruit efforts and resources to protect and strengthen peace and freedom. We
are also responsible for preventing a gap between the declaration of values and
daily reality of our citizens. For this we need to concentrate our everyday
efforts and fair work. Without this we would not have been included in the
Schengen area, we would have no promising agreements on energy links and would
not be able to use structural assistance of the EU. Unfortunately, we have not
yet joined the euro zone; the development of our infrastructure and
communications is insufficient. We might as well find other areas where we
could have done better and could have represented or negotiated our interests
more effectively. After all, we declared the objective to become active and visible
members of the Euro Atlantic community five years ago.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today it is 8 May. It is the day when the war
ended in Europe. The idea of European unity is deeply rooted in the belief that
it is possible to ensure peace among nations, solidarity, and welfare based on
enduring common work and joint effort. When joining the EU we also undertook
the responsibility for its and our future. Every individual can contribute to
the development of the future of Europe by casting a ballot at the European
elections, by expressing his/her opinion on gender equality, climate change,
migration, and European influence in the world, or simply on issues relevant to
you and us.
There are millions of Europeans who do not
enjoy the fundamental right, i.e. the right to choose. Today we offer our hand
to them.
Today we have a perfect opportunity to
contemplate not only on what we mean in Europe but also on how much of Europe
we have inside, how much of Europe we feel we can give to our children, our
sisters and brothers who live in our country and speak Latvian, Polish,
Russian, Yiddish and other languages? Do we take pride in our European roots
and do we cherish our living culture? Are we carried away by the thought that
our ancestors created the Statutes of Lithuania and contributed to the birth of
the first written constitution in Europe? Do we see Vilnius University, the
oldest university in the region, among other respected alma mater? Perhaps
today the University is educating the future Simanovičius, Sarbievius, and Venclova.
The war is over. It is time to create. As King
Mindaugas once said: we must always build and glue the state, glue and build. I
wish this to myself and all of us today.
