Press release, 10 September 2013
Fellow Members of Parliament,
Allow me to sincerely welcome you all at the opening of the third (autumn) session of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
I am happy to see the Plenary Chamber full again. I am equally delighted to see fellow colleagues again, especially those who I did not have a chance to see during the summer. I hope that each and every one of you found at least some time for a truly good rest and managed to clear your heads and stay away from politics at least for one or a few weeks. Getting some rest, as you know, is important for every one of us as it determines both the speed and the quality of work. Therefore, let me reiterate my hope that you all had a good rest and that you are ready to work and are full of energy and enthusiasm.
This summer, some of us celebrated wonderful and honourable jubilee birthdays. Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate those colleagues.
Let me start with Jonas Kondrotas, who has just turned 70. Happy birthday, dear Jonas!
Two more people celebrated their 60th birthdays. Congratulations to Artūras Paulauskas and Juozas Bernatonis!
I hope Mrs Pitrėnienė will not mind me mentioning her name as well among the ones who have celebrated their birthdays. She, as well as Donatas Jankauskas, has just turned 55. Congratulations!
Finally, let me congratulate two MPs representing the younger generation in the Seimas who recently celebrated their 30th birthdays. Congratulations to Valdas Skarbalius and Arūnas Dudėnas!
Dear colleagues,
Just like the previous session, this session is special in the sense that Lithuania continues its Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Therefore, the matters of the EU agenda will play a significant role in this session. We are all well aware of how important and responsible this period of time is. It is full of pressure and requires great devotion.
Until now, every foreign guest I had a chance to meet, including high-ranking officials, commended our preparations for the Presidency of the Council as well as the work we have been doing. They also wished us to finish this mission successfully. That is exactly what I would like to ask and wish you to do too.
Let me quote some statistics. A total of 821 draft legal acts have been included in the work programme of the autumn session of the Seimas. 694 of them are unique pieces of draft legislation. The President of the Republic proposed including 13 unique draft legal acts, the Government submitted 146 principal draft legal acts while Members of the Seimas tabled 219 unique pieces of draft legislation.
Nevertheless, please note that these are only figures. The report on the previous session shows that actually not all the tasks planned by the Seimas have been completed. Lets face it, this shows we have some planning issues. Therefore, when it comes to planning, instead of using the term work programme of the session, I would rather use the term protocol of intent, with the underlying idea being that at least the majority of the intentions will be implemented.
One of the most important tasks ahead of us is without a doubt the consideration and approval of the financial indicators of the state budget and municipal budgets. Long-term experience shows that this matter receives most of the attention from society and stirs up emotions of Members of the Seimas most of all.
I dont expect it to be otherwise this session as well. Therefore, I can only wish you to be guided by such values as respect, tolerance, constructiveness, responsibility, diligence and accountability to the people.
Dear colleagues,
I had the honour of addressing you at the beginning of the previous session too. There were several moments in that speech that I would like to share with you once again and stress them.
Please be reminded that the Seimas is not only a legislative body. It is, first and foremost, the house of representatives of the nation. I ask each and every one of you to put greater focus on the quality, rather than quantity, of laws. If every draft law is sufficiently and as widely as possible discussed with society, public organisations and all stakeholders, legislation will no longer resemble the mass production of laws while laws of dubious necessity or in violation of the Constitution will not be adopted.
I would also like to remind you one more particularly crucial area that is often undeservingly forgotten. Lithuania is a parliamentary state; however, parliamentary scrutiny is too insignificant and too weak in our country. We must strengthen it. That is why I invite you not to be passive observers but rather active participants who can spot things, assess and analyse them and act if necessary. This is our duty.
Just like in my previous address to you, I would like to once again wish to you all, including myself, to focus on the people in our country, be more open and understanding of the public concerns and problems of every citizen, and facilitate better and faster problem-solving. May our work be guided by the interests of our country and its people, rather than narrow and sometimes dubious interests.
Thank you.
