Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs: LXXI COSAC claims that immediate action on the security of Ukraine and the EU is needed

Press release, 25 March 2024 

On 25 March, the LXXI plenary meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for European Union Affairs (COSAC) took place in Brussels, the Kingdom of Belgium. At the meeting, the proposals for the closing documents of the COSAC LXXI plenary meeting, submitted by the Lithuanian delegation headed by Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė, Chair of the Committee on European Affairs, were adopted. Through Lithuania’s efforts it was noted in the document that COSAC condemns Russia’s politically motivated persecution of EU citizens. The representatives of the Seimas ask the Commission and the High Representative to take the necessary steps to prevent third countries from executing Russian arrest warrants in such cases. Apart from the head of the delegation, the Lithuanian delegation consists of Arminas Lydeka, Deputy Chair of the Committee, as well as Jonas Jarutis and Algirdas Sysas, committee members.

With reference to the prospects for the strategic agenda for 2024–2029, Ms Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė said that ‘important steps have been taken over the past period in the areas of migration, digitalisation, the Green Deal, sustainable supply of raw materials, and more. We have gained a better understanding on the dangers of dependency on autocracies. We need to continue our work in these areas.’

Underlining that the EU succeeded in mobilising its efforts in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and that, in the face of Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine, the EU had the opportunity to become a real global player through imposing sanctions for Russia, providing humanitarian support to Ukraine, and making crucial decisions on EU enlargement, the Head of the Seimas delegation stressed that the EU must do more to ensure security. ‘Firstly, negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU must start as soon as possible and an intergovernmental conference should be held this June. Secondly, each EU Member State should allocate 0.25 % of GDP to Ukraine and the EU’s security (Lithuania and Estonia are already spending 1.2 % of their respective GDP). Thirdly, we need to bring other willing countries, such as Armenia, closer to the EU by all means of cooperation. Fourthly, the EU needs to reinforce its defence industry and defence economy. Last but not least, the EU must be aware of all the actions of the Russian Federation, such as the recent launch of the politically motivated criminal investigations and issuance of arrest warrants to EU citizens including judges, politicians, and historians.

Mr Sysas from the Lithuanian delegation took part in the discussion on gender policy and representation of women and men in Parliament. In particular, he said that ‘the fight for women’s rights transcends gender boundaries. It is imperative that more men participate in the debate.’ He went on to note that ‘at present, women in Lithuania hold the positions of Prime Minister and Speaker of the Seimas, and five out of 14 ministers are women. Moreover, the chairs of the Seimas Committee on European affairs and the Committee on Social Affairs and Labour, on which I sit, are women, and so is the Head of the Lithuanian COSAC delegation. However, Lithuania still lags behind the European Parliament in terms of gender balance indicators. There are only 40 women out of 141 MPs at the Seimas, and 6 out of 14 committees are led by women.’ In reference to the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania, he noted that a woman heads the party and that the party has established quotas for women on electoral lists in its statute.

On 25 March, the first and second sessions of the LXXI COSAC plenary discussed the review of European law-making 2019–2024 and the outlook for the Council’s strategic agenda for 2024–2029 and held a discussion on gender policy and representation of women and men in Parliament. 

COSAC (Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union) is a conference organised on a regular basis and enabling national Parliaments and the European Parliament to exchange information and good practices. The Conference may submit any proposal to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

Belgium holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 January to 30 June 2024.

Martynas Lukoševičius, Adviser, Office of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs, tel. +370 5 209 6881