16 May 2011
Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas, welcomed the delegation members of the parliamentary defence committees of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden that met for a joint session at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Speaker noted that traditionally the issues of security and defence are attributed to the domain of great politics which determines the political independence of countries and protects and defends their national interests. Therefore, the fact that joint consultations on these important issues in the Nordic and Baltic region take place on a regular basis demonstrates that the attitudes of our countries towards contemporary challenges in security and defence are becoming more and more similar. At the same time, it determines the continuation of closer and more intense cooperation, said Mrs Degutienė.
The Speaker of the Seimas believes that such a close regional cooperation in the area of security and defence prevents the participants of the European security system which are not the biggest and most influential ones from remaining in the periphery of policies of large countries.
Mrs Degutienė highlighted particular challenges which today raise most concern over the European security system. Possible secret and open agreements between large countries, which could weaken the position of international organisations, such as NATO, which ensure security in Europe, constitute probably the most threatening challenges. It is important that sometimes cynical and anti-value tendencies of Realpolitik do not return to Europe, said the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament.
Mrs Degutienė noted the dilemma of finding a way to engage the countries which follow a different concept of security and national interests into joint defence projects and at the same time prevent these countries from controlling security processes in Europe or gaining disproportionately huge influence. I believe that this question in particular is raised whenever NATO is looking for opportunities to cooperate with Russia in developing the anti-missile defence system, said the Speaker of the Seimas.
Mrs Degutienė maintained that energy security also remains a very important subject which has already been established in domestic and foreign policy agendas in many European countries. The Speaker recalled the idea of the Nordic Defence Alliance which has been under consideration for several years.
The discussion on this topic in Nordic countries especially intensified after the war between Georgia and Russia in 2008. We would very much like to know if Nordic countries projecting such a defence alliance see the participation of the Baltic States in it as well. What are the advantages and shortcomings of this idea? We would like to have a discussion on this topic in this conference as well, because we have already been discussing it in the NB8 meetings of the speakers of parliaments, said Mrs Degutienė.
Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas
Juozas Ruzgys, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas
