“Regardless of the aid we have hitherto provided to the Eastern Partnership countries, it needs to be continued in a better targeted way. Whenever we are discussing the future of Europe, the Eastern Partnership must always be on the agenda,” said Jānis Vucāns, Vice President of the Baltic Assembly (BA), during his remote address at the autumn session of the Benelux Parliament, in which parliamentarians from the Baltic, Benelux, and Nordic countries talked about the future of Europe.

We see that Eastern Partnership countries are in dire need of our support. The Belarusian people need to be provided with all the necessary assistance, and utmost efforts must be made to promote a peaceful solution for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, especially in view of the hostilities that recently broke out in the region, stressed Vucāns.

Meanwhile, addressing the topics of the rule of law, democracy, human rights, and the developments in Belarus, Inese Voika, Deputy Head of the Latvian delegation to the Baltic Assembly, emphasised that the Baltic States cannot remain silent about the events in Belarus. “With regard to Belarus, solidarity is an essential value that all of Europe needs to put into practice,” said Voika.

The Saeima has adopted a statement on the refusal to recognise Alexander Lukashenko as the legitimate president of Belarus, and the Baltic States have decided to impose sanctions targeted at those responsible for the repressions against the Belarusian people. In its letter to the heads of the highest European Union (EU) bodies, the BA calls on the EU institutions to closely follow the developments in Belarus and, if necessary, strengthen the instruments of EU action, ensuring a peaceful resolution of the situation in Belarus as soon as possible, noted the Deputy Head of the Latvian delegation to the Baltic Assembly, urging the parliaments of the Benelux and Nordic countries to adhere more actively to the resolute position of the Baltic States.

The parliamentarians of the Baltic, Benelux, and Nordic countries were united in their support for a new, fair, and free presidential election in Belarus and called on the Belarusian authorities to start a dialogue with the public and to comply with the fundamental principles of democracy and human rights.

Information about the BA:

The Baltic Assembly is an inter-parliamentary cooperation organisation of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania established on 8 November 1991. The Baltic Assembly consists of national delegations – 12 to 16 members from each country’s parliament. It is a coordinating and consultative organisation which has a right to express its opinion to the national parliaments and governments of the Baltic States, as well as the Baltic Council of Ministers, in the form of resolutions, decisions, declarations and recommendations; it also has a right to request the above-mentioned bodies to provide information on cross-border issues that are high on the Baltic Assembly’s agenda.

Saeima Press Service