2024-05-09 20:07:49
“You opened your homes to thousands of refugees and gave them full access to your economy. You bought drones and radars for the Ukrainian armed forces with crowd funding,” Leyena said in her address to the Lithuanian parliament, recalling that in proportion to the gross domestic product (GDP), Lithuania is one of the largest in Ukraine supporters in the world.
“You lead Europe by your example. And today you are a true inspiration to all Europeans,” she praised.
Leyen pointed out that it took Europe too long to wake up to the Russian threat.
“For many years, Lithuania warned Europe about the threat of revanchist Russia. After 2014, you told us that [Krievijas diktators Vladimirs] Putin just won’t stop. And Europe should have listened! It took us too long to wake up and realize the threat of Putin’s Russia,” the German politician admitted, declaring that now the EU “stands firmly on your side in defense of freedom and against aggression.”
Leyena reminded that in 2021 the eastern EU member states faced an influx of migrants from Belarus, “but Europe was united and we overcame the crisis together”.
“And now we are joining forces again to boost our defense industry, here in the Seimas, by passing legislation that resonates with our European Defense Industrial Strategy,” she said.
Leyena also pointed out that more than 90% of Lithuanians voted for joining the EU in a referendum more than 20 years ago. “And this choice has transformed not only your country, but all of Europe. With your accession, our Union returned to its roots,” she said.
“Your history of resistance has made the Lithuanian nation unique. Unique with its love for freedom, with its support for other freedom-loving nations and with its distaste for any kind of coercion,” the EC president said.
“And since you joined, you’ve reminded us what the European project has always been about. It’s about our continent’s path to freedom. It’s a story of new and old democracies growing stronger together,” Leiena said, adding that Lithuania ” has always been at the center of European history”.
“You have always had close ties, not only with your immediate neighbors, but also with Scandinavia, Central Europe and beyond as far as the Black Sea. The Iron Curtain had made all this impossible. But now Lithuania has regained its rightful place in Europe. And it has been a return at home,” she declared, describing Lithuania as “a strong player in Brussels and a strong partner for all other capitals” and as a “driving force in European politics.”
“This is 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, recalling that since joining the bloc, Lithuania’s GDP has grown from 50% of the EU average to almost 90%.
“Lithuania has grown faster than any other new member of our union. You have made the most of our single market,” she said.
The President of the EC has arrived in Lithuania to celebrate Europe Day and the 20th anniversary since Lithuania joined the bloc.
In Vilnius, Leyena meets with the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėdas, Speaker of the Seimas Viktorijas Chmilītis-Nilsens and Prime Minister Ingrid Šimonitas. She is scheduled to participate in several events.
2024-05-09 20:07:49