Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Irena Degutiene, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, initiated holding of Trilateral Events in the EU to attract Ukraine to the European Affairs
11 February 2011, 15:00
Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, initiated holding of trilateral events in the EU to attract Ukraine to the European affairs.
On Friday, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, met Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania.
The Heads of the Parliaments discussed the prospects of Ukraine´s integration to the European Union, dates of holding of the Parliamentary Assembly of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine in Kyiv, and the economic reforms.
V.Lytvyn informed that the trilateral parliamentary assembly will be held on March 21-22, 2011 "to confirm European identity of our nations and cultural connections between them." He believes that holding of this event will allow planning further steps in the inter-parliamentary cooperation and launching a dialogue in the form of ‘brainstorming.´ "To quote M. Sivec, Ukraine is not a neighbour of Europe, but a neighbour in Europe," the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament stated. "The social circle should be extended on the inter-parliamentary level of EU member states." "We should resort to "people´s democracy" to settle the critical issues," he stressed. "Accession of Ukraine to the Agreement on Association would eliminate discrepancies in the foreign policy and establish peace in some European states."
Last year, the Trilateral Parliamentary Assembly of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine was held in Vilnius. Humanitarian cooperation between the countries will be on top of the agenda of the coming assembly. "Our dispute and dialogue will be dedicated to the humanitarian dimension as the factor of European identity. It is important to discuss the fundamentals of life of every nation and our attitude to Europe," V.Lytvyn declared.
Dwelling upon the reforms in Ukraine, the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament called for clarifying the logics of actions of the authorities, and the specific goal of the country. Resumption of the dialogue between all the political forces in Ukraine will help to achieve this objective. "Some steps have already been taken during the eighth session," he stressed. "This dialogue should be carried on."
Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Lithuanian Seimas, supports the
European pursuit of Ukraine. She stated that Lithuania would act as a driving
power for Ukraine´s accession to the European Union. A monument to Ukrainian
poet T.H.Shevchenko will be opened in Vilnius in May. She stated, "The issues
of spirituality and culture of both nations are no less important than economic
and social matters."
Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and Irena Degutienė, Speaker of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, signed the letter to J.Buzek, European Parliament President, with a request to hold an extraordinary sitting of the presidium during the plenary session of Lithuania-Poland-Ukraine Parliamentary Assembly at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on May 10-12, 2011. The Heads of the Parliaments suggest that all concerned deputies of the European Parliaments should take part in the sitting.
The letter reads that Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania support the initiative of J.Buzek to set up an energy union in the context of energy security of Central and Eastern Europe discussed during the third session of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, and The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in October, 2010.
The Heads of the Parliaments also initiated holding of trilateral events in the EU to attract Ukraine to the European affairs.