News

On 9 October in Vilnius, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys, met with Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law, and Consumer Protection.

The meeting, held at the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights, discussed the importance of preserving historical memory, Lithuania's experience in countering disinformation and propaganda was presented, and potential measures the European Union (EU) could take to counter hostile information operations and other hybrid threats were explored. According to Budrys, these topics will be among the priorities of Lithuania's Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2027.

The Minister presented to the Commissioner Lithuanian proposals for the European Democracy Shield. The  initiative is being prepared by the EC and aims to counter foreign interference, preserve the fairness and integrity of democratic election processes in Europe.

"This initiative will help improve coordination between the EU institutions and the member states, make more effective use of the existing EU instruments, and develop the new ones to strengthen democratic resilience. We are pleased to be able to contribute to the development of an essential tool to counter disinformation in the region", said the Minister.

The head of Lithuania's diplomacy also informed the European Commission's representative about Russia's recurring revisionist attempts to distort and rewrite history.

“More efforts are needed to foster a common historical narrative in Europe; we need to honor the memory of the victims of totalitarian crimes. We urge the European Commission to pay more attention to this. Living historical memory is an effective antidote to Moscow’s manipulations,” said Budrys.

The Minister and the European Commissioner also toured the exhibition at the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights.

The Irish European Commissioner, McGrath, is responsible for putting in place the new European Democracy Shield. The idea of a European Democracy Shield was introduced by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the European elections in May 2024.