Dignitaries congratulate the Baltic Assembly on its 30th anniversary

Press release, 5 November 2021 

 

On 5 November 2021, the 40th Session of the Baltic Assembly was held at the Seimas. The participants were welcomed by Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania; Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; Dagmāra Beitnere-Le Galla, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima of the Republic of Latvia; and Jüri Ratas, President of the Riigikogu of the Republic of Estonia.

 

Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, congratulated the three Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — on the 30th anniversary of their important and meaningful parliamentary cooperation to be celebrated in three days’ time. According to the Speaker, the Baltic Assembly began its work in the context of crises and tensions.

 

‘However, given a transformational change in the daily lives, operating conditions and partly the popular mindset, we find ourselves faced with tensions and challenges once again, reminding us of the times back in the past when the three Baltic States gained their independence, jointly worked to consolidate their statehood and concurrently sought ways to pool their efforts and coordinate their work,’ said the Speaker of the Seimas.

 

According to the Speaker, today cooperation is vital again for the Baltic States and their citizens.

 

‘We need maximum focused efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated impacts. We need to find common energy security solutions acceptable to all the three countries. We need an expeditious response to security challenges at the external borders of the European Union. We need close defence cooperation uniting the efforts our countries. We need coordinated action to address the challenges in economy and digitalisation. And apart from active debates on subjects where finding consensus is easy, we also need to boldly raise issues on which views differ and solution can only be achieved through long discussions and efforts to understand each other’, stressed the Speaker of the Seimas.

 

Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania, in his address at the opening event of the Baltic Assembly Session, stressed that the unity of the Baltic States was historically deeply rooted. ‘Apart from the memory of the Baltic Way which is dear to the heart for every Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian citizen, we can also fall back on the signing of the Baltic Entente Agreement much earlier, back in 1934. All of this today continues to assist our countries in coping with complex challenges such as climate change, preservation of the European values, irregular migration, and threats to regional security,’ the President of the Republic said.

 

The Head of State stressed that the current geopolitical situation urged the nations to pay special attention to security issues, which in recent years have been on the top of the joint agenda of the Baltic States. ‘Together, we have sought to enable faster and more accurate NATO’s response to the challenges in the region. The renewed defence plans and the presence of our Allies in the region will be an important contribution to this end,’ stressed Mr Nausėda. In his speech, he also thanked Latvia and Estonia for supporting and assisting Lithuania in the face of the hybrid attack by the Belarusian regime.

 

Mr Nausėda went on to highlight the Rail Baltica project and the Baltic capital market as successful examples of Baltic cooperation that promote the economic and social integration of the entire region.

Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas

 

Andrius Kupčinskas, President of the Baltic Assembly and Head of the Seimas Delegation to the Baltic Assembly, commented on the results of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Baltic Assembly and noted that the COVID-19 pandemic gave us a painful but excellent lesson: together, we are stronger, faster and more resilient.

 

‘Throughout the year we understood over and over again that togetherness and cooperation are not just wishes but also a great need. Another important lesson for the future – when a crisis hits, we cannot forget about cooperation. We saw how longstanding relations were tested and challenged by national interests’ Mr Kupčinskas said.

 

The BA President presented the results of the Lithuanian Presidency, expressed in figures: ‘We managed to fully implement 41 % of the recommendations of the Baltic Assembly adopted last year. A total of 39 % recommendations are still being coordinated and actions have been harmonised among countries. Unfortunately, 20 % of our recommendations have not made any progress. This will be the task for the next year, under the Latvian Presidency, to ensure comprehensive parliamentary oversight regarding the implementation of these recommendations in order to avoid that parliamentary decisions remain on the paper or are archived.’

 

Mr Kupčinskas welcomed the serious cooperation of the Baltic States and remarked that, despite some challenges, the Baltic States continued to work together for the benefit of the region. According to him, the Baltic interests continued to be defended and joint positions were loud and clear.

 

The Baltic Assembly (BA) is an international organisation for cooperation established by the Lithuanian, Estonian and Latvian Parliaments three decades ago, on 8 November 1991. The BA Session is the supreme body of the organisation.

 

 

Rimas Rudaitis, Adviser, Press Office, Information and Communication Department, tel. +370 5 239 6132, e-mail: [email protected]