Veryga hinted at Lithuania’s withdrawal from the vaccine agreement: that would already be an international problem

It is also important to mention that some countries face the acquisition of this vaccine at the highest level in the country. Denmark, for example, plans to discuss the issue in Parliament, while in Germany it has been addressed by the country’s top leaders.

Furthermore, if Lithuania, say, decides to withdraw from the current EC-initiated agreement or other future agreements, it would already be an international problem. After all, the attitude of other countries towards Lithuania would depend on it. In other words, the question of acquiring the new vaccine is not just a question of national policy, but also flows into international waters, ”Dugi said in a written response.

According to him, the VGT also recommended a solution to the Ministry of Health to discuss the issue.

“This was also suggested by the special services consulted by SAM,” Veryga said.

Delfi recalls that on Tuesday night, A. Veryga shared on Facebook the response to Darius Kuliešius, the president’s national security adviser, to the invitation previously sent by the ministry to convene the VGT. The document indicates that to convene this format of meeting of the heads of state and national defense it is necessary to provide “supporting material and arguments.”

“The specific procedural documents of the current hiring do not form the basis of the VGT’s agenda,” states the VGT Secretary in response to A. Veryga.

For his part, A. Veryga assures that D. Kuliešius did not even know the documents presented, “because he did not agree to sign the standard declaration of confidentiality established by the European Commission (EC) and did not receive the key to open those documents”.

According to him, this week Lithuania has to decide the allocation of additional funds to the support fund for vaccines, as well as “decide the strategy to buy vaccines as soon as possible”. “We believe that Lithuania needs to make immediate decisions about the purchase of a coronavirus vaccine, which are directly related to the ability to effectively manage the threat to human health and life posed by the virus, while avoiding serious negative consequences that can affect all areas of the country. ” Veryga.

Meanwhile, D. Kuliešius himself stated that A. Veryga is only trying to get rid of his personal responsibility.

“The organization of the COVID-19 vaccine procurement process is a crucial public health issue for which the Minister of Health is directly and personally responsible. The COVID-19 vaccine purchase process has already started and the intention of the Minister to waive their direct responsibility may be linked to ongoing pre-trial investigations into past purchases made by the Ministry.

According to the president, the VGT could organize in the future to address strategic issues in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak. However, in this particular case, the president has no doubt that the vaccine should be purchased, and the choice to be made to do so with other European Union countries by signing a suitable agreement with the European Commission in June is adequate. However, the purchase must be transparent and efficient.

In the opinion of the President, the Minister should devote his attention, time and determination to the performance of his direct functions, and not to attempts to evade responsibilities ”, said D. Kuliešius yesterday.