Šimonytė’s meeting with Duda is expected to signal attitude towards Poland

Political scientists say the meeting could show the first signs of tactic in the new center-right government in relations with Warsaw as the Polish government continues its disputes with the European Union over the rule of law.

On Tuesday, Mr. Duda thanked outgoing Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis for his excellent cooperation in building a strong relationship and said he looked forward to an equally good relationship with Mr. Šimonyte.

Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, a political scientist and professor at the Institute of International Relations and Political Science at Vilnius University, says that the integration of Lithuania’s energy and transport into the rest of the EU is highly dependent on Poland, Poland is also important as security partner, especially considering both countries politics.

According to him, the ongoing conflict of the Polish rulers with the EU institutions over the rule of law, especially the independence of the judiciary, has been building Lithuanian politicians and diplomats in the dilemma of maintaining coherence in support for liberal democracy at home and abroad and maintaining partnerships with the Polish government.

“Lithuanian leaders are trying to resolve this dilemma by talking about dialogue both within Poland and in EU formats. However, it is still unclear whether the newly formed coalition of the ruling TS-LKD and the two liberal parties, which emphasizes the importance of human rights in foreign policy, it will follow this tactic. The meeting of the candidate for prime minister I. Šimonyt el with the president of Poland is especially interesting for that, “R. Vilpišauskas told BNS.

“By the way, although the contradictory internal policy of the Polish rulers, which is criticized by the EU institutions and some member states, increases the importance of Lithuania as a partner of Poland, it reduces the authority and influence of Poland both in the EU and in the Eastern Partnership countries, “he said.