Media release of 2 October 2009

 

Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania Irena Degutienė met with President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek who paid the first official visit to Vilnius.

 

During the meeting, they discussed evaluation of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes on the European Union level, strengthening interparliamentary cooperation, and energy security.

 

The Seimas Speaker thanked the Head of the European Parliament for the decision to patronise and sponsor the conference to be held in the European Parliament in mid-October. The aim of the conference is to evaluate the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed seven decades ago as well as the totalitarian regimes.

 

“We have to ensure follow-up discussions of crimes committed by totalitarian regimes, continuous presence of the issue on the European Union agenda and inclusion in the Stockholm Programme which will define the key EU priorities and future guidelines in the areas of freedom, security and justice for the coming five years,” said Mrs. Degutienė.

 

The President of the European Parliament stressed his support for the idea to mark the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact because when considering human rights in the present-day Europe it is important to remember the lessons of history and not to repeat the same mistakes.

 

The Seimas Speaker expressed a hope that the citizens of Ireland would approve of the Lisbon Treaty in the referendum, thus enabling the Community to make a firm step forward to a more open and democratic Europe.

 

“Institutional reforms provided in the Lisbon Treaty will significantly strengthen the role of the European Parliament and enable national parliaments to be involved in the EU decision-making process,” said Mrs. Degutienė.

 

Mr. Buzek pointed out that it was very important to ensure closer cooperation between the European and Lithuanian Parliaments.

 

Energy security and the Nord Stream project were also touched upon at the meeting. The EP President promised that this highly relevant issue to Lithuania would be included into his agenda when communicating with the European Commission and its President.

 

Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas

Spokesperson Juozas Ruzgys, tel.: 2396023, 8 698 42073