The meeting with the leader of the right-wing party of the EP was held a month in advance to the European Parliament election, so it mostly focused on joint efforts to prevent malicious external attempts to affect the will of Europeans and interfere with the democratic election process.
According to the President, Europe currently deals with numerous challenges that may contribute to mistrust in politicians and make them prone to populist rhetoric. Therefore defending common European values that are the core of long-term welfare and safety is as important as ever.
The President also emphasized that lengthy Brexit should not interfere with the work of the EU institutions and legitimacy of the European Parliament decision-making, therefore, the UK will have to hold the election to the European Parliament as agreed during the last European Council meeting.
Security and defense matters were also discussed at the meeting. According to the President, the European Union should increase military mobility, enhance cyber security and fight against hostile propaganda and disinformation without duplicating NATO’s efforts but rather by supplementing and generating added value, as well as allocating sufficient funding in the new multiannual financial framework.
Lithuania takes an active part in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in security and defense projects. At the initiative of Lithuania, EU cyber rapid response teams are set. Lithuania also contributes to improving military mobility and supports the initiative to introduce EU sanctions for cyber crimes.
