The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania plays a role in the preparation for the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council in the second half of 2013 in two principal areas:

Carrying out parliamentary scrutiny, the Seimas supervises the preparation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for the Presidency;

The Seimas is preparing to fulfil the functions of the national Parliament of the Member State holding the Presidency of the Council.

The preparation of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania for the Presidency is coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Within its competence, the Seimas carries out parliamentary scrutiny of the preparation process and gets ready to perform the functions of the national Parliament of the Presidency.

On 25 May 2010, the Seimas adopted the Resolution No. XI-846 on the Preparation of the Republic of Lithuania for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2013 whereby the Seimas, underscoring the importance of the Presidency of the Council, requested the Government of the Republic of Lithuania to submit the Guidelines and the Action Plan of the Preparation of the Republic of Lithuania for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013, as well as the proposals on the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency. The Seimas also authorised its Committee on European Affairs to carry out parliamentary scrutiny of the preparation for the Presidency and coordinate the preparation of the Seimas to fulfil the functions of the national Parliament of the Presidency.

Having regard to the fact that the early preparations for the Presidency of the Council are planned and implemented by the Seimas of 2008–2012 and the Government while the Presidency will be undertaken by the next Seimas elected at the end of 2012 and the newly-formed Government, all the political parties represented at the Seimas signed the Accord on the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the Second Half of 2013 on 14 October 2011. In the Accord, the parties state that the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council is the national task and commit themselves to ensure the continuity of the Presidency-related work after the Seimas elections.

On 10 November 2011, the Seimas adopted the Resolution No XI-1651 on the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013 whereby it underlined that promotion of employment, ensuring of financial sustainability and energy security are the top priorities of the European Union in the current period and during the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in seeking continuous economic growth and competitiveness of the European Union.  The Seimas approved the following priority areas set out in the Presidency Programme by the Government:

Energy security – (1) creation of the EU internal energy market and development of energy infrastructure; (2) ensuring nuclear safety; (3) promotion of the external energy policy;

Integrated border management– strengthening of integrated management of external borders and ensuring comprehensive border protection, including fight against smuggling;

European Union Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region – effective implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region and enhanced regional co-operation;

Eastern Neighbourhood Policy – bringing the countries of the Eastern Partnership closer to the EU; the Eastern Partnership Summit is scheduled for September 2013.

The Seimas also approved the draft Inter-Institutional Action Plan for the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, worked out by the Government, earmarking the target spending of LTL 214 million from the state budget of 2012–2014 for the implementation of the Action Plan, with LTL 10 million thereof allocated to the Seimas activities related to the preparation for the Presidency and the Presidency of the Council.

The Seimas Resolution No XI-1651 of 10 November 2011 also lays down the tasks of the structural divisions and the Office of the Seimas during the preparation for the Presidency and the Presidency.

On 2 September 2011, the Secretary General of the Seimas approved the Guidelines for the Preparation of the Office of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania for Involvement in the Process of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council on 1 July – 31 December 2013. The Guidelines assess the current situation and lay down the principal preparation tasks and measures.

The functions of the Presidency to be fulfilled by the national Parliament, in particular that of a new Member State, constitute a substantial challenge. The proper fulfilment of these functions requires good preparation suggesting multiple tasks.

Human resources. The Office of the Seimas intends to make full use of the available human resources for organising parliamentary events. Currently, the units and civil servants of the Office of the Seimas to  take on the heaviest workload have been specified; the functions and responsibilities have been distributed; the need for qualification upgrading and potential training tools have been established.

Material resources. For holding events, the premises of the Seimas must be appropriately furnished and technically equipped, including interpreter booths, interpretation equipment, video broadcasting facilities, and other installations. The COSAC Plenary Meeting presents the greatest challenge to the Seimas. There is a discussion on whether the buildings of the Seimas will be able to house such a large-scale event. The remaining parliamentary events will definitely take place in the halls of the Seimas. Moreover, the events must include catering, cultural programme, as well as presents and souvenirs.

Interpretation. Simultaneous interpretation into/from all 23 official EU languages must be ensured during the COSAC plenary meeting. At present, no Lithuanian body has the capacity of providing such services; therefore, the recruitment of an international company with experience in such interpretation is considered. The remaining parliamentary events, where usually interpretation into/from three or four working languages is required, are planned to be served by the in-house interpreters of the Office of the Seimas, recruiting freelance interpreters when necessary.

Information. In view of international experience, a separate website has been launched for briefing on the parliamentary dimension of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council. The website will bear the logo of the parliamentary dimension, report on parliamentary events, contain practical information for the visitors, and provide for interaction with the major website of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council.

Registration of participants and accreditation of journalists. A uniform system for participant registration and journalist accreditation will be developed for all events of the parliamentary dimension. The system must include not only the registration of participants for the events but also the information on visitors’ attendance at guided tours and receptions, hotel reservations, and transportation.