"I would like to thank the staff of the ministry for our common efforts in laying foundations for long-term agricultural strategy which, I am sure, will revive Lithuania's rural areas," the minister's statement read.
Parliament Speaker Loreta Grauziniene (Labour Party) thanked the minister for "competent work and great representation of Lithuania during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union".
Jukna faced considerable criticism from President Dalia Grybauskaite who demanded responsibility for transparency of his subordinates. According to the president, the Ministry of Agriculture is among those ministries causing the most problems due to politicisation and lack of transparency. There have been public doubts about opaque allocation of EU support, fishing quotas, unfair competitions to head enterprises under the ministry and protectionism of companies related to politicians.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius expressed his trust in the minister of agriculture.
