Pandemic visit: G. Nausėda received Polish President A. Duda in Vilnius

The President of Poland “will discuss bilateral cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, the procurement of vaccines, regional security and defense issues, the implementation of strategic energy and transport projects, transatlantic relations and the situation in the countries of the Eastern Neighborhood of the EU “with Lithuanian President G. Nausėda,

Afterwards, A. Duda will meet with Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis and Conservative candidate for this position Ingrida Šimonyte, with whom he will communicate on Wednesday morning.

Comments are expected around 4 pm after the meeting of G.Nausėda and A.Duda. You can watch the live broadcast here:

15 minutes To the best of his knowledge and belief, the Polish President himself expressed his desire to become acquainted with the new or, officially, future government.

There is no doubt that the main representatives of the Lithuanian authorities will also discuss the veto announced by Warsaw and Budapest on Monday evening on the new multi-annual EU budget and the ambitious economic recovery plan.

For Vilnius alone, more than 6 billion should fall from the economic recovery plan. However, due to the stubbornness of the package, Poland and Hungary, who do not want funding to be tied to the rule of law, have lost their fate.

On Tuesday evening, A. Duda will also address the Seimas and meet with the new speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament, the representative of the Liberal Movement Viktorija Čmilyte-Nielsen.

The guest may not necessarily like what he is going to hear, at least from V. Čmilytė-Nielsen. After all, he stated on Tuesday that it is not possible to turn a blind eye to reproductive health problems in Poland, and he intends to discuss them with A. Duda as well.

“Through our efforts, the Liberal Movement, reproductive health issues were included in the ruling coalition agreement as one of those to be addressed, this issue is very important to us,” V. Čmilytė-Nielsen told the journalists at the Seimas on Tuesday.

“As partners, as friends, as friends, we cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in the neighborhood,” he said.

The massive protests in Poland were sparked by the Constitutional Court’s decision that the laws currently in force in Poland, which allow abortions in cases of fetal malformations, are unconstitutional.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, chairman of the ruling Lithuanian Christian Democratic Party-National Union (TS-LKD), also spoke in a similar way. He assured that Poland was a strategic partner of Lithuania, but added that Lithuania did not intend to pretend to be blind to the human rights problems in the neighboring country.

G. Landsbergis: I am very hopeful that friendship will be based on mutual trust, courage, and the ability to tell the truth.

“I think today’s talks will draw attention to the fact that Lithuania will not blindly pretend that there are certain problems in the field of human rights.

“A state that places high demands on its neighbors, I mean Belarus, about the serious human rights violations that take place there, should apply the same to itself,” Landsberg said.

According to him, raising this issue should not harm relations between Poland and Lithuania.

“I am very hopeful that friendship will be based on mutual trust, courage and the ability to tell the truth,” said the director of TS-LKD.

According to the Constitution, the president decides on the main issues of the country’s foreign policy. Therefore, G. Nausėda may not like the comments of V. Čmilytė-Nielsen and G. Landsbergis: relations with Poland can certainly be considered one of the main foreign policy issues.

Before A. Duda’s visit, G. Nausėda communicated with the new president of Seimas and discussed guidelines for future talks with the president of Poland.

Defenders of women’s rights have already welcomed A. Duda’s visit with protests over the abortion ban in Poland. On Tuesday a small march took place from the Adam Mickiewicz monument to the Polish Embassy.

During the march, the activists brought the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other documents of international law, which enshrine universal human and women’s rights and democratic values, whose violations are criticized in Poland.