Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė mentioned: the successful negotiation with the European Parliament of the EU's multiannual financial framework, the progress in creating a banking union in the European Union and the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius as the major achievements of the Lithuanian presidency.
"The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is in each case a major challenge; both politically as well as in terms of organisation. On behalf of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group we welcome with satisfaction the success of the Lithuanian Presidency." – said MEP Valdemar Tomaševski (ECR) during the debate.
"The Lithuanian Presidency focused on issues of energy security, on the success of the Eastern Partnership, on strengthening external borders of the European Union, as well as on a stronger cooperation between states in the Baltic Sea region. Lithuania has from the start set itself ambitious goals, and ensured consistency in its decision making process."
Valdemar Tomaševski also referred to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, during which Ukraine withdrew from signing the Association Agreement with the European Union. "The failure of Ukraine to sign the Association Agreement with the EU in November 2013, during the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, cannot be seen, like many commentators have described it, as a failure of the Lithuanian Presidency, but the obvious consequence of a political game pursued by authorities in Kiev. The final outcome was predictable long before the summit."- said Valdemar Tomaševski.
Valdemar Tomaševski took the opportunity to defend the rights of Poles in relation to recent events in Lithuania. On Christmas Eve, at the request of a representative of the Lithuanian government, the Vilnius District Court imposed a draconian penalty of about 13,000 euro on the Director of Šalčininkai Local Administration Boleslav Daškevič for the use of bilingual signboards with street names in both Lithuanian and Polish, located on private estates. What was omitted in this decision was the fact that this region is inhabited by 80 per cent Poles. "It is unfortunate that the recent scandalous events in Lithuania, aimed at traditional minorities, have left a bad impression and become the proverbial bucket of tar in a barrel of honey of the Lithuanian Presidency." – said Valdemar Tomaševski "The advocated struggle of the highest authorities with the language of a traditional national minority should have no place in the European Union."
In July of last year, the European Parliament in a special resolution relating to linguistic diversity, called on Member States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Tomaševski condemned practices which, through language discrimination, or through imposed or hidden assimilation go against the identity of other traditional, historical communities and minorities.
"I appeal to the Council and the Commission to urgently implement this resolution, and to intervene in the fight against discrimination, repression and persecution of traditional minorities in the EU." – said Valdemar Tomaševski
