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On 7 June, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland and stressed that over the 20 years of Council of Europe membership Lithuania had created a strong democracy and matured as an equal international partner.

“We are very glad about Lithuania’s progress over the 20 years of the Council of Europe membership. With the help of the Council of Europe, we have consolidated democracy, created an active civil society, the market economy that resisted the crisis, and dynamic cultural life. The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights plays an important role in the lives of our citizens. Over the 20 years of the Council of Europe membership Lithuania has matured as an equal international partner and promotes poles of prosperity and stability both in the region and in Europe through the dialogue in the Council of Europe,” Linkevičius stressed.

The meeting focused on possibilities for cooperation between the Council of Europe and the European Union during the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council, the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights, the reform of the Council of Europe, the execution and implementation of the judgments and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Lithuania, and other issues related to human rights, democracy, and rule of law, with a special emphasis on minority rights.

Linkevičius expressed support to Jagland’s reform process of the Council of Europe, aiming to develop a more flexible Organisation, to enhance its effectiveness, and to adapt structures to new challenges and developments in Europe.

“The role of the Council of Europe, as the main guarantor of European values - democracy, human rights and the rule of law - in the entire European continent is extremely important for the EU’s enlargement and the Eastern Neighbourhood, because the EU’s integration process is based on these values,” the Foreign Minister said.

During the visit to Lithuania, Jagland also met with the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius, the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas (Parliament) Gediminas Kirkilas, and the Seimas Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Jagland delivered a welcome speech at the International Legal Conference “Twenty years of Lithuania’s Membership in the Council of Europe: Lessons and Prospects” that is organised by the Faculty of Law of Vilnius University.