News

On 5-7 June, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland is paying a working visit to Lithuania at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius. The visit of the Secretary-General includes meetings with the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius, the Deputy Speaker of the Seimas (Parliament) Gediminas Kirkilas, the Seimas Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Lithuanian Foreign Minister.

At the meeting at the Foreign Ministry on 7 June, Linkevičius will on behalf of Lithuania sign the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence and a statement with respect to the Convention and its applicability in compliance with the principles and norms enshrined in the Constitution of Lithuania.

During the visit, the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s Council of Europe membership will be marked. The meetings will focus on 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 Lithuania’s other commitments to human rights, democracy, and rule of law, with a special emphasis on minority rights.