Minister of Justice meets with Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Poland – focus on Lithuania's preparations for the Presidency of the Council of the EU and legal issues relevant to national minorities
Minister of Justice Rita Tamašunienė met with Grzegorz Marek Poznański, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland. The meeting discussed the issues relevant for both countries: the preparations of Lithuania for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and legal aspects relevant to national minorities.
“I am glad that our relations with Poland are strong, based on mutual trust and shared values. Poland's experience of the Presidency is in particular valuable to us, as Lithuania is also getting ready for this important event,” said Minister of Justice Rita Tamašunienė.
Lithuania has been actively preparing for its upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union for more than two years. In June this year, both the Government and the Seimas approved the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency.
The priorities of the Presidency cover the most important geopolitical issues: the focus will be on strengthening the European security and defence, full support for Ukraine and adequate defence funding, as well as on increasing the competitiveness, continuing the enlargement process, and strengthening the internal security.
Within the area of competence of the Ministry of Justice, particular attention will be paid to the issue of russia's accountability for war crimes and the crime of aggression against Ukraine. In cooperation with other Lithuanian institutions, the Ministry will continue to provide all the assistance necessary to Ukraine, contributing to the ensuring of international justice.
The meeting also discussed the use of diacritical marks in official documents and the possibility of writing names and surnames with diacritical marks as an integral part of a person's identity.
“Lithuanians living in Poland already have this possibility, therefore, we will look for ways to ensure that the Poles living in Lithuania can also exercise these rights,” the Minister noted.
Poles are the largest ethnic community in Lithuania. According to 2021 data, the Polish ethnic minority accounts for 6.58 percent of the country's population.