Press release, 3 May 2013

Address made by Vydas Gedvilas at the meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in Lithuania

Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, met with heads of diplomatic missions to the Republic of Lithuania convening for their annual meeting in Lithuania. Other participants of the reception at the Constitution Hall of the Seimas included Petras Auštrevičius, Jaroslav Narkevič and Algirdas Sysas, Deputy Speakers; Andrius Kubilius, Leader of the Opposition; Benediktas Juodka, Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; Audronius Ažubalis, Deputy Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs; Artūras Paulauskas, Chair of the Committee on National Security and Defence; and Michal Mackevič, Deputy Chair of the Committee on National Security and Defence.

Address by Mr Gedvilas:

“Distinguished Members of the Board of the Seimas, Excellences Ambassadors, Colleagues,

I am genuinely pleased to welcome you at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. It is commendable that some of your time during the traditional convention of ambassadors is devoted to the Seimas and its matters. I have met many of you in person during my visits to Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Poland, Brussels and other destinations. Let me reiterate my thanks to the diplomatic service for their support. I am looking forward to our further successful cooperation.

This year is exceptional for us all in view of the most important upcoming event, i.e. the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We can already sense the increased attention of our foreign partners; their visits to Lithuania have increased in frequency. We have recently hosted the official visit of the Speaker of the House of Commons of the UK. This was his first visit to Lithuania after the restoration of our independence. We are currently hosting a visit of the Speaker of the Indonesian Parliament. Presidents of Ukraine and Turkey have recently visited Lithuania. Heads of State of Estonia, Finland, Germany, Israel and other countries are due to come soon. Understandably, those of you working in Brussels will soon have to tackle the enormous workload and fulfil an important task of representing both Lithuania and the entire European Union. Heads of Missions in other capitals and at international organisations will also have to work hard. Never before has our state and its diplomatic services encountered a challenge of this magnitude, a task of this level of responsibility, and a privilege as sizeable as this, especially having in mind that we will have to make do with comparatively limited capacities and resources. This should only serve to make our efforts more targeted and goal-oriented. However, the Presidency concurrently offers a unique and valuable experience and an opportunity for us all. Therefore, I first and foremost hope for success, endurance and concerted efforts.

I believe that the upcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the Council also offers an opportunity to raise our profile in Europe and worldwide as well as to consider and debate our challenges ahead. In simple terms, they are: successful presidency, national security and prosperity.

Very specific tasks need to be accomplished during the Presidency and the principle of neutrality must be adhered to while ensuring the coordination of EU’s decision-making process. As you may well be aware, Lithuania will strive to focus on the creation of a credible, growing and open Europe. The success of a Presidency, as we see it, is usually measured by the number of closed legislative initiatives. The task that befalls the Seimas is to support the Government through parliamentary channels, events, and contacts in attaining this task. I believe that the Seimas will demonstrate good will by swiftly endorsing the formal negotiating positions, assisting the Government with timely advice and vigilant yet friendly scrutiny, and trying to alleviate the task of striking a compromise on matters on the busy European agenda.

I would like to specifically stress the efforts of the Seimas in contributing towards the progress on Eastern Partnership, first of all insofar as relations with Ukraine are concerned. In my opinion, the upcoming Vilnius Eastern Partnership Summit offers a historical opportunity for Europe and Ukraine, as well as other partners. As you know, the Seimas will host a number of parliamentary dimension events, including the L COSAC, the Inter-Parliamentary Conference for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Common Security and Defence Policy; the first meeting of the newly established Inter-Parliamentary Conference based on Article 13 of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, where the national Parliaments of the EU Member States will discuss economic and budgetary policy; and the EU Speakers’ Conference in 2014. Our ambition is to bring to the fore one or several innovative ideas that can impact further development of the European discourse and contribute to addressing specific problems.

Colleagues,

Our foreign policy objectives have been clear and stable for quite a long period. They include active membership of the EU and NATO, transatlantic cooperation and good neighbourly relations. After the last elections, both the objectives and the continuity of foreign policy were stressed by our ruling majority, which also highlighted the areas where change is needed, such as relations with Poland. I commend the renewed dialogue with Poland. My colleague Gediminas Kirkilas, as Chair of the Seimas Delegation to the Assembly of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania and the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, is now in Warsaw, where the commemoration of the anniversary of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations is taking place. I truly want to see our parliamentary diplomacy contributing towards real solutions to political problems, including energy, infrastructure development projects and other issues we have been discussing for a number of years now.

The coming year will also mark a decade of our EU and NATO membership. The forthcoming anniversary may give an impetus to a more profound debate in both the Seimas and other forums on today’s international situation, most pressing issues and foreign policy objectives. I believe we should focus on national security and prosperity.

Last year, the Seimas approved the National Security Strategy stipulating that the current security situation is better than ever before. However, we should not underestimate the importance of continuously monitoring and evaluating international developments, and your contribution and attitude is very important in this regard. For example, we should note that the US focuses on reduced defence spending and has shifted towards the Asia-Pacific region, which means a certain retreat from Europe. What are the implications for us as a small country and a strategic partner of the US? We should also consider and predict the impact of China and other rising global powers on Lithuania; we should think whether we have a reasoned position on hotspots like Syria, Iran, Afghanistan, the Middle East or North Korea. I believe that Lithuania, as a future Presidency and aspiring non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, should broaden the scope of its vision beyond its immediate neighbourhood. The neighbourhood, however, will probably always remain the most important matter for us. Here we see some growing concerns about the security of the Baltic Sea Region. We have discussed this with Swedish and other politicians. Lithuania’s defence spending is still inadequate, although it has been increased in absolute terms. Therefore, as Speaker of the Seimas, I will do my utmost to ensure that the agreement of political parties is implemented and their pledge of increasing the funding for the national defence to 2 % of GDP is delivered. Talks with the Government on the matter are in progress; we are in search of realistic solutions. Energy security is a definite priority. Last week, the Governmental working group presented its findings on guidelines for the energy strategy to the Seimas, with an ensuing debate. We hope to be able to reach an agreement in the near future. Having an agreement on energy security that is similar to the existing agreement on national defence is clearly very important. It would be best if all parties adopted and signed a strategic document paving the way for achieving our goals in the area of energy security.

Not only should we see the external, but also note the internal challenges to security. They mostly relate to the domestic economic and social situation. Lithuania is one of the countries which suffered most from the economic crisis in Europe in 2008. We have contained the crisis, but this came at a huge cost to our society. Our national debt has massively increased. Our economy is recovering slowly, and the situation is far from good. The social consequences include high unemployment, especially among young people, increased level of poverty (more than 30 % of Lithuania’s population lives in poverty) and increased migration. The reduced public sector wages are still in effect; pensions and other social benefits are still frozen at the crisis levels. I know that our diplomatic service also had to face financial constraints. Therefore, we are looking forward to initiatives from the executive to improve the socio-economic situation. Before our accession to the European Union, its role of providing “soft security” was emphasised. Indeed, progress is good in many areas, but the living standards in Lithuania remain among the lowest in Europe even after nearly a decade of EU membership. It is much more difficult to compete now in a global and interconnected world, given new economic powers are emerging. Therefore, both the Seimas and the Government have a common task ahead: achieving wellbeing and prosperity for Lithuania. I believe that we can still lean on our strengths: we are a small country with a relatively homogenous society capable of focusing on big goals while our national institutions have good organising and communication skills.

May I encourage you to spread the message about Lithuania as a strong, talented and smart nation. We have our dream team in basketball, so let us create dream teams in other areas as well. Let us search for positive messages, create and maintain contacts with good professionals worldwide and build bridges to other countries and cultures. Lithuania is a successful country with good safety standards and living conditions, a country we all work for.”

 

Secretariat of the Speaker of the Seimas, tel. +370 5 239 6002