19 April 2011
Mrs Irena Degutienë, Speaker of the Seimas, believes that politicians and the Government are facing an important mission of presenting the activities of NATO to the public and seeking public approval of NATO’s missions.
This was the position that the Head of Parliament expressed at her meeting with Dr Karl Lamers, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and Mr David Hobbs, Secretary General of the Organisation.
“Ordinary people in Lithuania find it hard to understand the role of NATO; therefore, politicians and the Government are facing an important task of presenting and explaining the role and activities of NATO to the public in a comprehensible manner. Prior to Lithuania’s accession to NATO, there were attempts to do it, but now little attention is devoted to this task,” Mrs Degutienë observed.
The Speaker of the Seimas noted that more focus should be given to presenting and explaining the activities of other international organisations that Lithuania is member of as well, and the language used should be comprehensible to every individual.
The President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly underlined his conviction that it was the presentation of NATO to the public that major attention should be given to.
“Nowadays, the word NATO is largely associated with military missions; however, the area of activities of this organisation is much broader. Therefore, we must focus more on the presentation of these activities and seek public support for NATO’s missions,” Dr Lamers said and added that he would present this position at the Lithuanian Seimas today and during his visits to other NATO states.
At the meeting, the Speaker of the Seimas also stressed that one of the key aims of Lithuania today was full integration into NATO’s political and defence structures, as well as ensuring that decisions were not taken at the expense of “small” states.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas
Juozas Ruzgys, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. (+ 370 5) 239 6023; 698 42073
