Having reviewed the situation five years after the revolution of Maidan as Ukraine is moving forward on the path of reforms, the Committee on Non-governmental and Cultural Cooperation discussed the possible dates to be commemorated jointly by Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. The delegates agreed that the citizens and heads of state of the three countries should be invited to jointly commemorate the 450th anniversary of the Union of Lublin of 1569.
In addition, the Lithuanian delegation to the Assembly proposed joining the efforts of the national governments to make sure that the tombstone of Konstantyn Ostrogski, the Grand Hetman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania who led the army in the victorious battle of 1514 against a Muscovite army several times the size of his, was restored in the Uspensky Sobor of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in 2019 in commemoration of the 505th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Orsha.
Members of the Committee on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine focused mainly on cyber security threats. The Committee meeting featured a speech on the Realities of Cyber Security and Challenges in Our Region by Edvinas Kerza, Vice-Minister of National Defence of Lithuania.
Mr Kerza noted that the number of cyber incidents was growing annually. In 2017 alone, the number of cyber incidents in Lithuania totalled 55,000, while the EU had to deal with 4,000 incidents on a daily basis. The countries are suffering tremendous financial losses as they cope with the aftermath of cyber attacks.
When referring to security threats and actions by countries hostile to Lithuania, Mr Kerza stressed that Russia was mainly focusing on energy, law enforcement, and foreign and security policy. He also noted that in the current year new types of threats had emerged, with cyber and information attacks being carried out simultaneously.
The members of all the three Parliaments shared the opinion that public education, defence and critical thinking were of crucial importance. It was agreed to share best practices in improving cyber security.
Parliamentarians representing their delegations in the Committee on Commercial and Economic Development, Regional and Local Cooperation discussed energy cooperation, regional energy interconnections and hybrid threats. While reviewing the current affairs in not only Lithuania but also the region as a whole, Virgilijus Poderys, Chair of the Committee and Chair of the Seimas Energy Commission, highlighted that Lithuania was currently focusing on the synchronisation with Western European power grids and disconnection from the Russian networks. It was also pointed out that development of regional gas market was possible by using the existing liquefied natural gas terminals in Poland and Lithuania.
Members of the Committee were convinced that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline represented a threat to the energy security of not only the European Union but also the region as a whole.
They also took note of the threat to the security of the entire region posed by the unsafe nuclear power plant under construction in Astravyets.
The representatives of all the three national Parliaments were unanimous in saying that the three countries, irrespective of the differences in their energy systems, could actually cooperate closely and thus create added value to the entire region and overcome the demons of history that divided the nations.
The decisions and proposals endorsed by the Committees are reflected in the Final Document of the Session of the Assembly.
