What Liudas spoke about.

25

Apr

2024

LT Speech

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Pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews (debate)

President-in-Office, it is symbolic that when we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the great enlargement at the end of our mandate, we are discussing the issue of future enlargements. The 2004 wave of enlargement proved that the Community was able not only to successfully integrate the European countries, including Lithuania, that were progressing at the time, but also to maintain the functionalit…

14

Mar

2024

EN Speech

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Return of Romanian national treasure illegally appropriated by Russia (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, robbing cultural historical treasures is a very usual behaviour of Russia since Tsarist times. For instance, exhibits from Lithuanian museums were taken out to Russia in the middle of the 19th century and are still not returned. Important historical documents are robbed by Russia too and are secretly kept without possibility to even be acquainted with the…

12

Mar

2024

LT Speech

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Need to impose sanctions on the import of Russian and Belarusian food and agricultural products to the EU and to ensure stability of EU agricultural production (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. While the Russian military is ruthlessly destroying Ukrainian agriculture, the European Union is allowing itself to import food products such as dairy products, fruit, vegetables, confectionery, flour, grain, feed from the same Russia for a total of EUR 2.2 billion in 2023. So the question is why are we trying to impose economic sanctions on Russia if, two year…

29

Feb

2024

LT Speech

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EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement - EU/Chile Advanced Framework Agreement (Resolution) - Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Chile (joint debate - EU-Chile agreements)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. The renewed agreement reached with Chile is a positive message, a win-win project and an example to follow. 99.9% of goods exported by the European Union will not be subject to tariffs, which could increase exports to 4.5 billion euros. Chile is becoming a strategic partner for the European Union in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. Chile's abundant re…

27

Feb

2024

LT Speech

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Closer ties between the EU and Armenia and the need for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. The decades-long confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a product of Russia’s directional mode. The Nagorno-Karabakh geopolitical bomb was programmed by Stalin. In 2022, we recognised Russia as an aggressor and a state promoting terrorism, and in the South Caucasus, by default, we attributed it the role of a purported peacemaker. And it was only after …

7

Feb

2024

LT Speech

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Need to fight the increase of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. Today we are facing a painful reality: a new wave of antisemitism. Reports of hate-motivated incidents are a stunning reminder that history lessons have not been learned everywhere. The recent outbreak of violence in the Middle East has triggered a dangerous wave of anti-Semitic rhetoric and attacks in several Member States. Lithuania, like many European nation…

5

Feb

2024

LT Speech

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State of EU solar industry in light of unfair competition (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. Solar energy is one of the critical levers to move away from fossil fuels in the fight against climate change. And the challenges of the European solar industry already today require urgent attention. Our industry is being attacked by imports from third countries entering the EU market at lower prices, fuelled by high subsidies. If China provides state support …

16

Jan

2024

LT Speech

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Role of preventive diplomacy in tackling frozen conflicts around the world – missed opportunity or change for the future? (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia became its legal successor, giving it a triple legacy: one of the largest military-industrial complexes in the world; veto power in the United Nations Security Council, role in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; well, and the right to simultaneously incite local conflicts, and to portray them…

12

Dec

2023

LT Speech

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Environmental consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the need for accountability (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. Despite Russia's ongoing war of aggression, the democratic government of Ukraine is deliberately and sincerely preparing for negotiations on membership of the European Union, preparing to transpose European environmental law into national law. However, the environmental damage caused by Russia's war is increasing every day. At the very least, it is estimated at…

12

Dec

2023

LT Speech

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Parliament’s call for the right to disconnect - three years on (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. In the three years since the adoption of the European Parliament's resolution on the right to disconnect, the arguments that legislation on this issue is necessary have only intensified. The application of teleworking has expanded, it has become routine. In addition to the advantages that this brings, it is necessary to take into account the problems posed and …

12

Dec

2023

LT Speech

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EU-Taiwan trade and investment relations (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. In support of the removal of trade barriers between the EU and Taiwan and the promotion of investment, I would emphasise a number of arguments. First of all, the value: Taiwan is a democracy, especially one of the few in the region, which determines the geopolitical partnership between the European Union and Taiwan. In the face of Russia’s aggressive war agains…

17

Oct

2023

LT Speech

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Effectiveness of the EU sanctions on Russia (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. We discussed sanctions against Russia in the autumn of 2021, when it gathered its army of hundreds of thousands around Ukraine's borders and we were, oh, brave. If it engages in aggression, we will disconnect Russia from the SWIFT system. I myself, as it seemed to me, spoke quite gently, the braver ones saw Russia economically brought down, its financial system…

3

Oct

2023

LT Speech

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Uzbekistan (debate)

. – Thank you, President, Commissioner, colleagues. Today's geopolitical context makes it necessary to reflect on the choice of strategic partners. With Russia's escalation of its war of aggression, illegal war in Ukraine, the Central Asian region is gaining additional importance. Uzbekistan is a key country in the region seeking to diversify its economic and trade dependence on Russia. I therefor…

3

Oct

2023

LT Speech

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Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack and the continuing threats against Armenia (debate)

Dear President. The Nagorno-Karabakh problem is one of the so-called post-Soviet frozen conflicts. Similar to Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, now Lugansk, Donetsk and others. Karabakh was not only a post-Soviet bomb of the delayed decay of the USSR, but also a geopolitical bomb programmed by Stalin long ago. When thousands of intimidated ethnic Armenians left their homes a few days ago, a U…

2

Oct

2023

LT Speech

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Economic coercion by third countries (debate)

Thank you President, Commissioner, colleagues. In 2021, Lithuania took a bold step by opening a Taiwanese representation in its capital, Vilnius. It was proof of our commitment to the principles that unite us as members of the European Union. Our actions were driven by the desire to protect our values, including democracy, human rights, the rule of law, integrity. Taiwan, like the European Union, …

11

Jul

2023

LT Speech

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COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues. The COVID experience has given us a sense of how much can be done and overcome together. The pandemic has boosted broader thinking, not only by sharing vaccines in solidarity, but also by rethinking the importance of joint research, registries, databases, and not only in the area of communicable diseases, we have coined the concept of a European Health Union…

14

Jun

2023

LT Speech

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Torture and criminal prosecution of Ukrainian minors Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov by the Russian Federation

President, colleagues, we are talking about the torture and criminal prosecution of two Ukrainian teenagers accused of ‘sabotage planning’ by Russian occupiers. In doing so, Russia is violating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Convention on Torture. Such actions are not accidental, it is a certain thoughtful component of Russia's mastered strategy of systemi…

13

Jun

2023

LT Speech

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Humanitarian and environmental consequences of the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam - Sustainable reconstruction and integration of Ukraine into the Euro-Atlantic community (debate)

Dear President. By blowing up the Kakhovka dam, Russia committed an inhumane, immoral, criminal act. With such and similar actions, Russia has long gone beyond any limits of common sense. Peaceful people are forced to live in flooded areas without many vital resources. Water, the shortage of which is widely spoken of by the United Nations, and whose supply to Ukraine was already in trouble before …

1

Jun

2023

LT Speech

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Foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation - Election integrity and resilience build-up towards European elections 2024 (debate)

President, Vice-President, colleagues. The need to strengthen the EU’s resilience is a word that we have not stopped using in different contexts in recent years. The real war that is taking place as a result of Russia’s appalling actions in Ukraine has further reinforced the need to increase our resilience. This includes resistance to foreign interference in democratic processes in the EU. A furth…

10

May

2023

LT Speech

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Belarus: the inhumane treatment and hospitalisation of prominent opposition leader Viktar Babaryka

. – Mr President, Lukashenko continues his personal war against his people. Belarus has been transformed into a country of camps where an increasing number of political prisoners are being held. There is a court conveyor: Appointed judges sentence political activists to a physical crackdown. We must first of all demand that it is the judges – and their names and faces are known – who are brought t…

20

Apr

2023

LT Speech

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EU Action Plan against Trafficking in Cultural Goods (debate)

President-in-Office, Commissioner, colleagues, as a collector, I know that even legal trade in cultural goods generates increasing profits for traders. Unfortunately, illegal trade is also on the rise, despite efforts to limit it. And one can only imagine the deep pain of forcing entire nations to helplessly watch their cultural heritage looted. In the context of Russia's barbaric war in Ukraine, …

19

Apr

2023

LT Speech

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EU Global Health Strategy (debate)

President-in-Office, Commissioner, colleagues, the European Union's Global Health Strategy, which has been in place for over ten years, has come to be updated. Since then, we have experienced a number of shocks and losses: The COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of cancer and other chronic diseases have prompted us to step up our action on health. The European Union has shown leadership during the pande…

17

Apr

2023

LT Speech

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Deforestation Regulation (debate)

President, Commissioner, colleagues. Forest degradation is a growing, global problem, and without a solution we will hardly manage biodiversity loss and climate change. We are making consistent efforts in Europe in that fight, and we cannot afford that commodities on the European Union market contribute to deforestation, whether in the European Union or anywhere else in the world. In this way, I h…

14

Mar

2023

LT Speech

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Situation in Georgia (debate)

President-in-Office, Commissioner, colleagues, the Kremlin is conducting a war, including a hybrid war. I have no doubt that this tension between Georgia and the European Union is also artificial. It does not lead to a constructive outcome for either side. Georgia, despite all the current challenges, wants to be part of the European Union, and the people also support NATO membership. The proposed …

17

Jan

2023

LT Speech

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The establishment of a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine (debate)

Mr President, to paraphrase the well-known writers: Crimes are similar to each other and must be punished. Whether it was carried out by a private terrorist or an international actor, they are similar in one and the same way. Criminals are always afraid. The main feature of Russia’s aggressive war in Ukraine is that the aggressor is timid. Russia fears being bound by international agreements on a …