Madam President,

Speaker of the Seimas,

Prime Minister,

It is a great privilege for me to represent the Polish Senate in the Lithuanian Seimas on this important occasion for Lithuania.  

I was in this hall for the first time in 1991, which is 22 years ago. The hall looks the same now but the atmosphere was absolutely different then. Poland supported a democratic and independent Lithuania then, which was proven by our presence here, and it was not only a verbal support. The Solidarity from my Gdansk Region sent printing equipment and radio stations here; fortunately, there was no need to use them. Yet, sometimes it is worthwhile recalling that heroic period of time in order to appreciate the normal times we and our societies enjoy.     

Lithuania is the fourth new Member State to take over the Presidency after the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.

There are no more doubts, which existed before, whether new Member States will manage to withstand new challenges. Now there is no division between new and old EU Member States, which is good and I welcome it. 

Soon the Presidency of the Council of the EU will be taken over by Latvia and Estonia, which will be proof of remarkable changes that we are experiencing.

Similarly to Poland, Lithuania will hold the Presidency in the times of the crisis. Therefore, Poland fully supports the choice of the three pillars on which the priorities of the Presidency are built:  credible Europe, growing Europe, and open Europe.

The tasks related to the European economy, such as reduction of unemployment, especially youth unemployment, setting the instruments of the EU Financial Framework for 2014–2020 and the follow-up on approximately 70 legal acts, are very important. 

Energy issues are extremely important for Poland too. Similarly to Lithuania, we expect the creation of the common energy market. Therefore, we welcome this issue as one of the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency.

Another Presidency priority, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, is particularly significant for me since I have special relations with the Baltic Sea. In fact, it is an internal EU sea, even more internal than the Mediterranean. Therefore, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region is extremely necessary.     

The Presidency of other Baltic States in several years to come gives hope that the efforts undertaken by the Lithuanian Presidency in this field will continue further.

The motto of an open Europe is very much associated with Poland and correlates with the open door policy for countries with EU aspirations, which Poland has been promoting for some time now.

Both Poland and Lithuania have been supporting Ukraine in its EU aspirations for quite a long period of time. The 5^th session of the Assembly of Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine was held in the Polish Senate this March. We reassured the Assembly that together with Lithuania we will make every effort in the EU to ensure the signing of the association agreement with Ukraine and the initiation of such agreements with Georgia and Moldova, and Armenia during the Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Vilnius in November. In the final declaration of the Assembly, Mr Vydas Gedvilas, Speaker of the Seimas, and I promised expert and organisational support for building democratic institutions and the rule of law in Ukraine and for amending the legislation to comply with the EU standards.

Similarly to other countries in Eastern and Central Europe, Poland, now a member of the EU, has overcome a long period of transformation of the governmental system and the economy. We remember that without the help of the countries with a strong democracy, our transformation would have been much more difficult.

Thus, I believe that you will clearly understand our moral commitment towards the countries that have taken their first steps towards democratic changes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have a similar understanding of Europe and challenges it is facing. Joint efforts to gain freedom and the latest experience in building the future of Europe have played a crucial role here.

In the coming six months, all the Europeans will focus their attention on Lithuania. I wish every success to the Lithuanian Presidency.