Speaker of the Seimas: ‘Europe needs to focus on the Eastern Partnership’

Press release, 10 April 2019

Photo by Džoja Gunda Barysaitė, Office of the Seimas

Viktoras Pranckietis, Speaker of the Seimas, took part in the Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments in Vienna, Austria. During the debate on the European Union and its neighbours, the Speaker of the Seimas invited the national parliaments to pay attention to the Eastern Partnership and its objectives.

‘Over the past ten years, the Eastern Partnership countries have achieved good results and this is encouraging. We need to ensure appropriate financial support to the Eastern Partnership countries in the upcoming multiannual financial framework and grant this support on the basis of the “more for more” principle. It is important to ensure stronger EU’s involvement in the implementation of reform in Eastern Partnership countries and to avoid the passive “wait and see” approach,’ Mr Pranckietis said at the Conference.

The Speaker expressed hope that the new strategic reflection, by way structured consultations, will lead to tangible results by the end of 2019 and take the form of a Joint Communication by the High Representative and the European Commission.

While on visit to Vienna, the Speaker of the Seimas met with Carole Bureau-Bonnard, Vice President of the French National Assembly; Nikolaos Voutsis, Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament; Marek Kuchciński, Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland; and Ivan Brajović, President of the Parliament of Montenegro.

The meetings with the heads of parliaments addressed the importance of reinforced international relations and greater cooperation opportunities in multilateral formats and also covered the EU’s agenda and security issues.

The Conference of Speakers of the European Union Parliaments is an annual event. The Conference is organised by the national parliament of the country holding the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the calendar year after the end of the Presidency, i.e. in the first half of the following year. Romania currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. Lithuania held the EU Speakers’ Conference on 6–8 April 2014.

Karolina Frolovienė, Adviser to the Speaker of the Seimas, tel.: + 370  5 239 6016,

mob. +370 698 42 071, e-mail: [email protected]