28 March 2014
“Members of Parliaments,
Your Excellencies Ambassadors,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am privileged to welcome you all to the international conference Contribution of Parliaments to NATO Enlargement hosted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania. I am pleased that the conference attracted considerable attention of the public, members of parliaments from NATO member countries and candidate countries.
This year sees a number of significant anniversaries. Tomorrow, on 29 March 2014, Lithuania and other Eastern and Central European countries, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia, will mark the 10th anniversary of their accession to NATO. Three countries, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, which served as models for us on this road, have recently commemorated their 15th anniversary of NATO membership. Lithuania cast a YES vote in the North Atlantic Council for Albania and Croatia, and now these two countries are marking the 5th anniversary as members of NATO. It should also be noted that this year is of particular importance to NATO, as the most powerful global military alliance will mark its 65th anniversary on 4 April 2014. The 31 March 2014 will mark yet another interesting date – 60 years ago the Soviet Union expressed its wish to come a member of NATO.
Membership of NATO was not granted to us as a gift, nor did we receive it overnight. Twenty years ago, President Algirdas Brazauskas wrote a letter to the then NATO Secretary General, Manfred Wörner, requesting to grant Lithuania NATO membership. In the same year, Lithuania proved that it was ready to contribute to strengthening security in Europe by very specific actions: Lithuanian troops started participating in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Croatia. Lithuania undertook to reform its armed forces, modernised its weaponry, and replaced Russian weapons and military equipment by weaponry that complies with NATO standards. These developments have been perfectly reflected in the unique exhibition of armament, which you have already seen or will have an opportunity to enjoy later.
I am pleased that we are commemorating the 10th anniversary of our membership of NATO in the Hall of the Act of the 11 March. It was in this Hall that the Seimas ratified the North Alliance Treaty a little bit over ten years ago. The parliamentarians ratified the Treaty unanimously and for 20 years’ now the Lithuania’s foreign and defence policy has been based on consensus among major political parties, be they in position or opposition. It was the kind of unity that allowed adopting sometimes very difficult decisions and gaining support of the public for Lithuania’s membership of NATO. Tomorrow political parties will once again confirm the continuity of our foreign affairs and defence policy and will draw the principal policy guidelines for the upcoming six years.
Over the ten years, we have ascertained for quite a few times the benefits of NATO membership. Our skies are daily protected by winged police officers – fighters of the NATO air police mission. We also have an opportunity to train and to improve together with the best soldiers in the world and to use cutting edge military technologies. It is also important that we have consolidated our membership commitments in practice by engaging in joint international operations. I have been to Afghanistan, where our soldiers in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force stand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers from the USA and other member countries of NATO as well as troops from Georgia and Ukraine. I was convinced that the service of the Lithuanian soldiers is useful for Afghanistan, for NATO, and also for our soldiers.
Fifteen years have passed since the first wave of NATO enlargement after the end of the Cold War. We can boldly say that the enlargement of NATO is a success story, and that the accession of new countries has not only given much benefit to Eastern and Central Europe, but also has contributed to strengthening the Alliance. Moreover, the presence of NATO strengthens bilateral relations between allies and commits them to jointly strengthening defence.
In the last few months European countries, like never before, have realised the importance of being part of NATO, when we are all witnesses of the brutal actions of the Russian Federation aimed at redrawing borders of European countries. As we have underlined in our joint statement by Speakers of Parliaments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and the statement by Lithuanian, Polish and Ukrainian Speakers, the occupation and annexation of part of the Ukrainian territory by the Russian Federation is the most serious challenge to global security after the end of the Cold War. The painful and tragic experience of European countries in the 20th century commits us to undertaking all possible means to prevent the repetition of the history.
In front of the new challenges to our security, we have to clearly stress the importance of the open door policy, which is one of the key NATO policies. Every European country complying with the criteria and pursuing membership of NATO should become a member of NATO. Since 1999, NATO has enlarged every five years. This year marks the anniversary of the third and the last wave of enlargement. It is high time the next step was made in this success story. It is the only way to ensure the project of secure Europe.
Colleagues,
I have no doubts that during this conference you will thoroughly discuss about these and other issues pertaining to NATO membership, as well as share your ideas about challenges to security and necessary joint actions to withstand those challenges. I am sure that the distinguished speakers of the conference will share their ideas and enrich the discussions. I wish inspiration, energy and productivity to the participants of the conference. I also wish a pleasant stay in Vilnius to all our guests.
We will be looking forward to welcoming you back to Lithuania!
Thank you.”
