Speaker of the Seimas calls to make use of the existing mechanisms of regional cooperation
Press release, 7 September 2022
Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas
During the discussion with the participants of the 31st Economic Forum in Poland, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, stressed that strong regional cooperation was also the foundation of a strong European Union. While Lithuania considers the Three Seas Initiative to be a valuable format of cooperation and strengthening economic security, the Speaker of the Seimas believes that Ukraine’s active participation therein would definitely enrich this format of cooperation.
‘In the current geopolitical context, the Three Seas Initiative offers an important link of cooperation between the countries of the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas, which are now under the greatest external pressure. Lithuania strongly supports the transatlantic cooperation and partnership within that initiative and aims to ensure that as many strategic partners as possible contribute to the achievement of the objectives set. In this regard, achieving synergies between EU integration and regional cooperation is particularly important,’ Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen said.
Photo by Olga Posaškova, Office of the Seimas
In response to the question of whether she saw no conflict between the Three Seas Initiative and EU integration, the Speaker of the Seimas said the two processes should never be opposed to each other. ‘The European Union is not to be blamed for us failing to run a direct train line from Vilnius to Warsaw. By this I mean to say that there is a lot of untapped potential for regional cooperation,’ Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen said.
According to the Speaker of the Seimas, this is why Lithuania actively joined the Three Seas Initiative as a format oriented towards practical cooperation. The Lublin Triangle format is also very encouraging, especially in the context of Ukraine’s integration into the EU.
‘The talk of structural change is exacerbated by the difficulties and tensions within the EU, including the tensions associated with Brexit. Europe’s current political, economic and security system seems to be failing to meet our expectations. Naturally, the challenges we face lead to a range of proposed scenarios on ways to address them. However, over the past six months, the EU has repeatedly demonstrated unity and cohesion on issues related to halting Russian aggression or assisting Ukraine. Therefore, perhaps it would be more reasonable to focus on ways we, as the countries of the region, can strengthen the European Union and NATO. The process of Ukraine’s integration into the EU will render this cooperation even more important and meaningful. Ukrainians are dying in defending their right to be full members of the EU and perhaps of NATO, so let us give them that hope and work together,’ Ms Čmilytė-Nielsen told the participants of the Economic Forum.
Ilona Petrovė, Spokesperson for Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, Speaker of the Seimas, tel.+370 5 239 6030, mob. + 370 698 42071, e-mail: [email protected], www.lrs.lt
Monika Kutkaitytė