Members of the Board of the Seimas, leaders of political groups, committee chairpersons and their deputies have met with the delegation of the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament led by Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.

Among other topics, the participants of the meeting have discussed the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), interparliamentary cooperation, key political issues related to the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, and EU energy policy.

 

 

Petras Auštrevičius, Deputy Speaker in charge of parliamentary dimension of the Lithuanian Presidency, covered the scheduled events. “The Presidency will begin with a solemn meeting of the Seimas on 4 July 2013. A lot of distinguished guests are expected to attend. The solemn meeting should be particularly memorable for our Croatian colleagues as the first EU event of this scale involving their participation as fully-fledged members of the EU. We congratulate them in advance,” the Deputy Speaker said. He also stated that nine parliamentary dimension events will be held in the Seimas in the second semester. Mr Auštrevičius expressed the hope that during the Lithuanian Presidency, the parliamentary dimension will gain even greater importance and the EU-wide debate will bring added value not only to Lithuania, but also to its neighbours who are intensively following the European Union affairs. In the opinion of the politician, Lithuania is well prepared for the Presidency thanks to solid and serious preparatory work. It is expected that the Lithuanian Presidency will be a success for the whole European Union.

Mr Gediminas Kirkilas, Deputy Speaker of the Seimas and Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, highlighted the pertinence of timely adoption of the EU budget for the period 2014-2020 in line with the requirements of the European Parliament. He also said that EU energy security should be one of the priorities on the EU’s political agenda. “Today, the European Union needs to be clear on the way we start the fiscal year, the way we manage finances for the coming seven years, and the way we plan our work to ensure smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the EU”, the Chair of the Committee on European Affairs said. As regards EU energy security, which is on the list of Lithuania’s EU Presidency priorities, Mr Kirkilas particularly emphasized that, by 2014, an internal energy market of the EU should be created through the consolidation of energy infrastructure, integration of energy systems, formation of the common external energy policy, energy diversification, elimination of energy islands and achieving better energy prices that meet consumer needs.

Mr Benediktas Juodka, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Foreign Affairs, highlighted yet another priority of the Lithuanian Presidency, namely, the Eastern Partnership and the importance of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius. An important objective of the event, as seen by Mr Juodka, is signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

 

 

Mr Joseph Daul, Chair of the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats), stressed the need to agree on the future EU funding for seven years ahead, with its review in two or three years. “We need to envisage our own requirements for the budget in the European Parliament; we are working in this direction and we will help you find solutions. We do not want to undermine the decisions of the Heads of State. <...> We will continue our efforts regarding the budget; however, we do not want the budget to be adopted at any cost. We want the Parliament to obtain the required majority, and we want to achieve the support of the Democrats in the Parliament for all the aforementioned issues,” Mr Daul argued.

Enrique Guerrero Salom, Vice-Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, thinks that cooperation between the European Parliament and the national Parliaments is the most appropriate way to act together. As regards the energy matters, the politician stresses the need to address financial inequality in the European Union. “One of the reasons behind the financial inequality in the EU is the fact that individual Member States that are paying more for their energy resources end up in a worse competitive position compared to other countries that are paying less. We aim for the solution of this problem by putting the principle of solidarity at work. Overall, this principle should always be applied regardless of the matter at stake, be it energy, finance, or other issues. Obviously, Lithuania is not in the euro area, but I think that these issues should be of concern and should be addressed at the level of all the 28 Member States,” the Vice-Chair of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats said.

 

 

With respect to the energy issue, Jill Evans, Vice-Chair of the Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance, stressed the need to develop renewable energy sources (RES) and increase energy efficiency. In her view, these issues need to be a priority. “By 2020, with the help of RES, we can create 3 million new jobs, and this issue should be a priority in addressing youth unemployment and ensuring the security of employment for young people,” said the politician.

Martin Callanan, Chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, pointed out that his Group’s position on the budget and the Multiannual Financial Framework is different from that of the majority in the European Parliament. “We believe that expenditure should be reduced. <...> We think it is not a good idea to reach out to the taxpayers’ pockets for more money. Therefore, our budget should be reduced and, above all, wasting the taxpayers’ money should be avoided,” Mr Callanan remarked. He also supports his fellow-politicians on the need to address energy issues and find solutions.

Rolandas Paksas, Vice-Chair of Europe of Freedom and Democracy Group, noted that the Lithuanian Presidency will differ from other presidencies in view of the elections to the European Parliament next year. The politician wished great success and consensus for everyone and hoped that Lithuanian Presidency priorities would not be forgotten after the Presidency. He hopes that the EU will constantly come back to them and that after some time we will be able to say that we were the ones who started the work during our Presidency on matters that were implemented later on.

Gabriele Zimmer, Chair of the Confederal Group of the European United Left – Nordic Green Left, said it was necessary to secure funding for the European Social Fund in order to ensure a more effective fight against social exclusion, poverty and youth unemployment. “We have to send a clear message about the need to strengthen the social dimension and solidarity between EU Member States. If the positions of the great powers will outweigh the positions of the small Member States, the European Union will have no future,” Ms Zimmer said.

Francisco Sosa Wagner, representing the Non-attached Members, recalled that Europe is the area of solidarity and freedom. “It is necessary to constantly maintain and improve it. Europe is the area of the rule of law. Those who have experience of dictatorial regime, akin to myself in Spain, and you here, know what a joy it is to live in countries governed by the rule of law,” the politician said.

 

Rimas Rudaitis, Public Relations Unit, tel: +370 5 239 6132, e-mail: [email protected]