According to the President, the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union is important for all the members of the Community and for Britain itself. The UK's proposals for EU reforms are negotiable, and a compromise is possible. However, even in order to secure the United Kingdom's membership of the EU, we cannot allow the free movement of persons to be restricted or EU citizens to be discriminated against.
Lithuania does not oppose proposals to boost the competitiveness of the EU's economy and to enhance the role of national parliaments in EU legislation. We also agree to the proposals to better listen to the opinion of non-euro countries when discussing issues concerning the euro, but this must not preclude the euro zone from making decisions important for it.
Britain's proposals include a possibility of limiting,in the future, social support in this country to EU citizens entering the labor market. Defending the principle of the free movement of persons, which is enshrined in EU Treaties, and the interests of its people, Lithuania will take a strict position that benefits can be limited only in exceptional cases, after providing clear evidence that increasing flows of EU citizens pose a serious threat to a country's social system. Limitations must be temporary: they must apply for no longer than four years and decrease gradually. They must not concern people currently working in the United Kingdom. It is also necessary to ensure that EU citizens are not discriminated against, as compared to newcomers from third countries.
In cases where children whose parents work in the United Kingdom live in another country, child benefits are proposed to be indexed according to the standards of living of that country. Lithuania is ready to consider the indexation of child benefits but it must be applied only to newly-arrived EU citizens and cannot create a precedent for reducing other benefits.
In Brussels, EU leaders will also assess the implementation of measures to manage the migration crisis. The President points out that slow and sluggish implementation of the previously agreed measures is deepening the migration crisis in Europe. In order to ensure the security of the European people and an effective response to the crisis, the EU must strictly apply immigration rules and seriously fight the criminal networks which are making profit from smuggling migrants. The protection of the EU's external borders must also be reinforced by setting up registration centers for newcomers and establishing a European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
Dalia Grybauskaitė also emphasized that rules were applicable to everyone – Europe could not grant asylum to those who declined to register and did not follow the laws of EU member states.
EU leaders will also approve the recommendations drafted by the European Commission to ensure the stability of the euro zone.
