On Monday, 25 January, Lolita Čigāne, Chairperson of the European Affairs Committee of the Saeima, addressed the chairs of the European affairs committees of the Baltic and Polish parliaments, who met in Vilnius, Lithuania, emphasising that “Georgia and Ukraine continue to implement reforms, thus demonstrating their commitment to pursue deeper integration in the European Union. We must promote Georgia’s and Ukraine’s European integration based on their progress, as well as support their sovereignty and territorial integrity within the internationally recognised borders”.    

The participants of the meeting, initiated by Lolita Čigāne, drafted a joint statement on supporting further European integration of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

The statement is to be submitted to the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC). The statement emphasises the need to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, also pointing out the adverse effect of Russia’s illegitimate and aggressive policies on the European aspiration of the three countries.

The statement also makes note of the progress achieved in the areas of visa liberalisation, Association Agreement and Free Trade Agreement with the EU.

The statement specifically underlines that the EU enlargement policy must be tailored to each of the countries, taking into account their progress. 

Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are encouraged to continue the required reforms aimed not only at a deeper integration with the EU but also benefiting the citizens of the countries in question.

The meeting of the chairs of the European affairs committees of the Baltic and Polish parliaments was held on 24 and 25 January in Vilnius, Lithuania. In preparation for the COSAC to be held in February in the Netherlands, chairs of the European Affairs committees of the Baltic and Polish parliaments discussed migration issues, the potential Brexit, as well as implementation of the regional infrastructure projects.

Saeima Press Service