On June 9, let’s sift the chaff from the grain
With the European Parliament elections approaching, let’s do a short test. Which two of the following statements do you think are true? A. The EU has tried to unify the size of pensions in Europe. B. The EU had regulated the straightness of cucumbers and bananas. C. The EU has banned surface water bottles from writing that water helps prevent dehydration. D. The EU does not allow the school to be closed if the child cannot reach another educational institution within half an hour.
Unfortunately, the EU is busy trying to equalize bananas and cucumbers (the correct answer is B), and writing on a bottle that water helps prevent dehydration was once punishable by two years in prison (the correct answer is C). This is the first reason why I am asking you to vote in the European Parliament elections on 9 June. To protect ourselves from similar nonsense.
The EU is a complex mechanism with 27 member states of varying sizes. Most of the decisions here are made in the so-called “trilogue” way: by agreement between the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council (member states). The European Commission employs around 32,000 European bureaucrats. 720 MPs will work in the European Parliament, which will be elected on June 9. Therefore, in order for the interests of Lithuania to pass through the Brussels and Strasbourg cabinets, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the rules of the EU game.
The Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens can safely be called the party of EU professionals, because we have achieved important tangible achievements. Member of the European Parliament, Bronis Ropė, is already in his second term in the European Parliament, fighting for the safe closure of the Ignalina nuclear power plant to be given sufficient attention and funding. With joint efforts, we managed to achieve a significant increase in European funds for Lithuanian farmers compared to the initial proposal of the European Commission. We also ensured that the regions of Lithuania (with the exception of Vilnius County, which is much stronger economically) would maintain a sufficient level of EU investments.
The Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens is proud to be called a rural or regional party, because we really care about the people of Lithuania, no matter where they live, how much they earn or what education they have received. Therefore, our European parliamentarians do not primarily look at “high matters”, but the interests of Lithuania and work hard to ensure those interests.
If the people of Lithuania trust us with their votes, Lithuania will be heard and respected in Europe. We will follow three important principles of success.
We will be representatives of the people of Lithuania
A frequent Lithuanian negotiator (politician or civil servant) goes to the Brussels negotiations as a tourist. They stay in dilapidated but still expensive hotels, eat Belgian fries, hear something during work, nod or vote “for”, take their daily allowance and return home. After many such business trips, Lithuania receives regulations, directives or other European legal acts, from which you want to scream, but there is nowhere to retreat. We have to carry out and say: “Brussels has done nonsense again”. This is what happened with the restoration of perennial meadows for farmers. Yes, in fact, it also happened with the date of the European Parliament elections. The Lithuanian negotiators failed to negotiate an exception for these elections to be held together with our Presidential elections. Now we fear that maybe 20 percent of the people in Lithuania will elect the European Parliament. Imagine sitting around a table with ten of your loved ones. Just two of them will elect all 11 European parliamentarians for Lithuania.
Lithuania did not negotiate. It’s the EU’s fault. Standard song.
While working as Minister of Agriculture, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Seimas and Vice-Chairman of the European Affairs Committee, I repeatedly negotiated with the EU regarding Lithuania’s interests. Both I and other representatives of the Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens feel a great responsibility in all negotiations and understand that we are not negotiating for ourselves, but for the people of Lithuania. And we don’t feel omniscient. If we have to negotiate with farmers, we talk to them beforehand and find out all the arguments that we can present to the representatives of other EU states or the bureaucrats of the European Commission. We intend to do this in the future as well. We invite Lithuanian businessmen, scientists, doctors, teachers and all people to cooperate so that your voice is heard and respected in Europe.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė once announced that a strong Lithuania means a strong President, and we, Lithuanian peasants and greens, believe that a strong Lithuania means its strong people, farmers, parents raising children, city and rural residents.
We will gather friends and not look for enemies
The current government is convinced that it will reach the EU mostly by shouting loudly and getting angry with all partners (with the Germans – for the brigade, with the Poles – for the Suwalki corridor, with Latvians and Estonians – for energy, with the Americans – for inviting Ukraine to NATO). The Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens does not support such beliefs. We know very well that the EU can achieve the most by assembling like-minded coalitions. We have done it, we are doing it and we will do it. We respect all 27 EU members, all NATO allies of Lithuania and we will never allow ourselves to insult them or threaten them, because we understand that Lithuania’s security and well-being depend on them.
We will invest in our talents
Many EU countries are trying to ensure that as many of their citizens as possible are employed in the EU institutions. In many cases, Poles, Spaniards, Italians or French working in the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council can help the governments of their countries to obtain first-hand information, provide expert advice and otherwise strengthen the representation of their countries. Lithuanians can do that too (if there are enough of them).
However, for the time being, the state is looking down on career opportunities for Lithuanians in EU institutions. Everything is left to itself and is often like trying to win the lottery or take part in the Sisyphus stone rolling competition. The Union of Lithuanian Peasants and Greens plans to create a mechanism so that the most talented civil servants of our country could better prepare for difficult European selections.
The European Parliament is often derided as an elephant graveyard, where veterans who have served in national politics are sent. As a result, solutions for the curvature of bananas and cucumbers are born. The responsibility of thinking Europeans is to elect visionaries and professionals to the European Parliament, who would not go to rest, but to work.
The EU is important to us. We determine its decisions and those decisions start in Lithuania.
Political advertising paid from the PK account of the Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Party
