Andrius Mazuronis, Head of the Seimas Delegation to the NATO PA: NATO PA Spring Session to be held in Vilnius is a great opportunity for parliamentarians to demonstrate their solidarity

From 30 May to 1 June, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania will host the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Vilnius. The Session will bring together some 500 people: parliamentarians from the 28 NATO member countries, NATO PA associate countries, regional partners, European Parliament and various international organisations. This is the second NATO PA Spring Session to take place in Lithuania. The first was held in Vilnius in 2001.

“Over the past few decades, we witnessed even several events critical for our country: restoration of Lithuania’s Independence, collapse of the Soviet Union, and Lithuania’s accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. Today, membership of the transatlantic community is the best security guarantee for our region. Therefore, it is extremely significant that the Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly takes place in Vilnius when we mark the 10th anniversary of Lithuania’s accession to NATO. This is a great opportunity for the Alliance parliamentarians and partners to jointly discuss the most pressing security issues and demonstrate solidarity and determination to fulfil the commitments enshrined in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. This is essential in the current climate of instability in Europe facing a threat to its security,” says Andrius Mazuronis, Head of the Seimas Delegation to the NATO PA.

The plenary sitting will be addressed by Loreta Graužinienė, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; Algirdas Butkevičius, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania; Hugh Bayley, President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General and Chairman of the North Atlantic Council; and other politicians. The Spring Session will include the meetings of the NATO PA’s five Committees: Political, Defence and Security, Science and Technology, Civil Dimension of Security, and Economics and Security. In Vilnius, the Parliamentary Assembly is going to consider the following three draft declarations: declaration on NATO enlargement to be submitted by the Seimas Delegation; declaration on support to Ukraine; and declaration on the transatlantic relations. The latter declaration will be handed over to the approaching NATO Summit in Wales, United Kingdom.

We draw the attention of the media that the accreditation of providers of information to the public has already started. Please find more on the accreditation and the programme of the event at www.lrs.lt/en2014nato-pa.

At 9.30 am on 20 May, Tuesday, the press conference of the Seimas Delegation will take place in the Press Conference Hall, Building 2 of the Seimas. The conference will be broadcast live online, the television channel Seimas Live, and the website designed specifically for the event (with interpretation into the English language) and to be unveiled at the press conference.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is an inter-parliamentary organisation that brings together delegates from 28 NATO countries, associate countries and other partners. The NATO PA is a forum for the parliamentarians of NATO countries to discuss the most important political, security and defence issues with colleagues from other countries and international institutions. The NATO PA meets biannually in session for a Spring Session and an Annual Session in autumn. The session location rotates every year from one country to another.

Jolanta Anskaitienė, Public Relations Unit, tel. +370 5 239 6508, e-mail: [email protected]