The Speaker of the Seimas noted the unresolved conflicts in the neighbourhood of the EU and NATO. “Lithuania is interested in liquidating the sources of instability and ending prologued conflicts at the eastern borders of the EU and NATO. We support further transatlantic and European integration of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine and want NATO to continue its open door policy. We also think that Georgia’s accession to NATO needs to be speeded up,” the Speaker of the Seimas said.
In his speech, Mr Pranckietis stressed that the Eastern Partnership countries could not be excluded from the process aimed at deeper internal integration of the EU, since this would threaten the economic and energy security of these countries. “The Seimas has drafted A New European Plan for Ukraine, which was welcomed by many national Parliaments in Europe. I believe that similar plans for other associated partners, i.e. Moldova and Georgia, should be considered as well. This would speed up the implementation of reforms and the European integration of these countries,” said the Speaker of the Seimas to the participants of the meeting.
The aim of the meeting, which took place in Poland on 12 July 2018, was to strengthen parliamentary cooperation with a view to promoting regional development. The participants of the meeting discussed the energy and transport policies and the infrastructure projects of regional importance, such as Via Baltica, Rail Baltica, Via Carpatia, and LitPol Link. The speakers of parliaments also talked about the enhanced role of parliamentary diplomacy in modern international relations and the role of parliaments in implementing the sustainable development goals. They also considered the idea of setting up a Parliamentary Assembly of Central and Eastern Europe, a project of regional cooperation.
