The President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, who visited the commemoration in the Seimas on Thursday, emphasized that Lithuania is a great success story of the European Union (EU).
“It is a great honor for me to celebrate this special day with you, here at the House of Lithuanian Democracy. This is the place where you said no to occupation. This is the place where you regained your independence. From here you have brought your nation back to the center of Europe and Euro-Atlantic security. This is the house of wisdom and vision”, U. von der Leyen said at the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s EU membership in the Seimas.
“It was in 1991. the night of January 13. Soviet tanks and soldiers were moving through Vilnius, ready to storm this building and destroy your democracy. However, more than fifty thousand people from all over Lithuania gathered here. All night until morning they stood shoulder to shoulder – singing, chanting and praying. Their only weapon was the love of freedom. They held back the most feared army on Earth. Such are the inhabitants of Lithuania. This is the spirit of Lithuania: fearless and free,” she emphasized.
The Chairperson of the EC said that after just over a decade, the people of Lithuania were again at the forefront of changes.
“More than 90 percent Lithuanians voted for joining the EU. This choice changed not only your country, but the whole of Europe. Because when you joined the EU, our Union returned to its roots. The history of your resistance has made the Lithuanian nation unique. Unique in its love of freedom, support for other freedom-loving nations and intolerance of any form of coercion,” she said.
“Since you joined, you have reminded us what the European project has always been. This is our continent’s path to freedom. This is a story of young and old democracies growing together. So Europe Day is dedicated to you”, stressed U. von der Leyen.
She emphasized that Lithuania has always been at the center of European history.
“You have always nurtured close ties not only with your immediate neighbors, but also with Scandinavia, Central Europe and further afield, on the Black Sea. All this was made impossible by the Iron Curtain. But now Lithuania has regained its rightful place in Europe. And this is homecoming. Because even if you are at the geographical border of our Union, you are the core of European life”, said the President of the EC in her speech.
U. von der Leyen called Lithuania’s twentieth year in the EU a great success story.
“Europe’s success story and Lithuania’s success story, because you turned your vision and dreams into reality. You are a country of innovators and entrepreneurs. And your talent is now recognized across the continent. Your startups have expanded far beyond your borders and conquered European markets. Your capital Vilnius is a growing technology center that attracts people and investments from abroad,” she said.
During the event, the President of the EC also admitted that Europe had not listened to Lithuania’s warnings about the dangers posed by Russia for a long time. However, she emphasized that the EU stands firmly against Russian aggression today.
“For many years, Lithuania has warned Europe about the dangers posed by Russia. After 2014 you said that Putin will not stop. And Europe needed to listen! It took us too long to wake up to the threat of Putin’s Russia. However, today our Union stands firmly by your side for freedom and against aggression”, stressed U. von der Leyen.
“We have now joined forces again to strengthen our defense industry, with the Seimas passing legislation that is in line with our European Defense Industry Strategy. Because your defense is the defense of Europe. Your freedom is the freedom of Europe. Today, more than ever before, Lithuania can rely on Europe. In the same way, Europe can count on you,” she emphasized.
Europe Day is celebrated on May 9 in Lithuania and throughout Europe. On Thursday, the Seimas emphasized the role of Ukraine in the future of Europe and urged not to delay the start of negotiations with it.
“Because of what we experienced, even today, commemorating the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s EU membership and celebrating Europe Day, our thoughts are with Ukraine, the country and nation that defends its freedom to live in a European country with its blood,” said Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen.
She emphasized that Lithuania has always supported and continues to support Ukraine’s quest for EU membership.
“We support the historic decision taken last December by the heads of state and government of the EU to start negotiations on the EU membership of Ukraine and Moldova. Taking advantage of the fact that the President of the European Commission is with us in the Seimas today, I would like to urge you not to delay the start of the negotiations and strive for them to start already in June,” said the head of the Seimas.
Ivanna Klympuš-Tsincadzė, the chairperson of the Ukraine’s EU integration committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, who participated in the aforementioned Seimas, said that the idea of Europe had already been formed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
“You have proven that dreams do come true,” she said, speaking about Lithuania’s European integration path, and asserted that Lithuanians are an inspiring example for Ukrainians.
I. Klympuš-Tsincadze emphasized that Ukraine, as a nation and as a state, has decided on EU membership.
Member of the European Parliament, former Prime Minister of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius said that in the coming decade, the EU will have no greater concern than to restore sustainable peace throughout the European continent.
“This will not be achieved through any negotiations on a short-term ceasefire or agreement on peace on Putin’s terms. Sustainable peace on the European continent is possible only if geopolitical transformations take place in the wide region of the eastern part of Europe, including Russia and Belarus. And for that, it is necessary for Russia to lose the war in Ukraine and for Putin’s regime to collapse in the Kremlin,” said the politician.
According to him, the next decade will be the “Decade of Ukraine” because only Ukraine’s success – that is, its victory over Russia, its reconstruction and modernization, its membership in the European Union and NATO – will help transform the wider Eastern European region.
“Therefore, Ukraine’s victory and becoming a member of the European Union is not only necessary for Ukraine itself, it is also necessary for the entire European Union. Because sustainable peace is not only needed by Ukraine, it is needed by all Europeans”, said A. Kubilius.
He emphasized that the current situation at the front shows that Western support for Ukraine’s victory should not reach 40 billion per year. euros, and at least 100 billion euros, or 0.25 percent. of total Western gross domestic product.
According to the MEP, the EU must also implement a broad strategy for the transformation of the Eastern European space, which would include all means of support for the political transformation of Russia and Belarus, including support for civil society and the opposition in those countries.
“Such an EU strategy is necessary to overcome the fears of the defeat of Russia and the collapse of the Putin regime in the West, as the West worries that after the collapse of the Putin regime, Russia will only get worse. Such fears are the main obstacle preventing the West’s determination to provide greater military support to Ukraine,” he asserted.
Former European Commissioner Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis, for his part, said that it is impossible not to see that chauvinism and nationalist egoism are returning to the political reality, voices are increasingly being heard that Europe is needed less.
“Extreme right-wing forces exploit people’s fears and can seriously oppose the further development of a solidary and effective European Union,” he warned.
The politician urged us not to disparage the name of Europe by covering up our bad decisions or unfinished business with the phrase “Brussels ordered”.
“And we keep drawing that terrible bureaucracy of Brussels, without even saying that all EU institutions are made up of representatives of all member countries, that no decision is made without the participation of Lithuania,” he said.
“And also – it seems that the only goal is how to get more money out of that Brussels. I often hear that Orban knows how to resist the dictatorship of Brussels. It’s a beautifully packaged lie. It must be clearly said that you will not bring the European Union with any cars, you will not bring it back beautifully wrapped, covered with euro banknotes”, said VP Andriukaitis.
