2010 

18 October 2010

 

Mrs Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas, met with Mr Petros Efthymiou, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), their discussion centring on Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2011 as well as chairmanship priorities and agenda.

 

The Seimas Speaker underlined that the OSCE chairmanship is Lithuania’s national priority and that this commitment would be impossible to duly honour without close cooperation between Lithuania and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. “The Lithuanian Seimas does and will support the idea of the Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE. As early as June 2010 the Seimas adopted the Resolution on Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2011, thus backing the goals of Lithuania’s commitment,“ Mrs Degutienė said.

 

The Seimas Speaker underscored that Lithuania’s efforts towards the chairmanship are also greatly aided by the active work of the Seimas delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

 

Mrs Degutienė expressed her hope that the 19th October solemn sitting of the Seimas dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Helsinki Process and the forthcoming Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE would contribute to increased public awareness of the OSCE activities and the importance of the OSCE decisions to the European security.

 

At the meeting, the Lithuanian priorities of the OSCE chairmanship came into focus and emphasis was placed on the fact that our country would give a lot of attention to strengthening effective mechanisms of early warning, crisis prevention and crisis management, to the European security dialogue bringing about greater progress in solving prolonged conflicts and to ensuring human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular media freedom.

 

Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas

Juozas Ruzgys, Advisor to the Speaker of the Seimas