Roberta METSOLA, President of the European Parliament, and Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, hold a press point with journalists during her official visit to Vilnius (Lithuania). This transcription is a result of an authomatic process. Please check against delivery.

official visit

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

Vilnius

Lithuania

president's agenda

ŠIMONYTE, Ingrida (LT)

Press point by Roberta METSOLA, EP President and Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida &Scaron;IMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, So first of all, I would like to express my joy that the President came here not for a simple reason, but during the days that are very important to us. Tomorrow, she will also participate in a formal meeting of the Parliament where we will commemorate the day of Freedom fighters and we will give the prize of freedom fighters, Freedom defenders. And this year it is dedicated to the European Parliament. So I would like to congratulate the President on this occasion. I think this prize is definitely worth it.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, So this day is a day when we remember people who, through their personal sacrifice, showed that freedom is something that we have to fight for every day, and that freedom and personal dignity never has a too high price. We remember that today when we remember people who fell on the 30th of January. But also when we think of people who are every day are proving this by fighting for Ukrainian freedom and for territorial integrity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, The year 2023 was special to the EU and to Lithuania as a member of the EU. We consistently supported Ukraine in its fight for our common values and freedom, and the European expansion process gained acceleration as well. Lithuania fought for it for a long time and we decided at the end of the year to finally begin negotiation with Ukraine and Moldova for their membership in the EU.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, I'll be brave enough to say that the EU and Lithuania became stronger economically and energy wise. We understood the risks that are facing us and we took the necessary action to strengthen our long term resilience, both economic and energy wise. And I am glad to see that we have found agreement on legal acts to resist the issues caused to us by migration and illegal migration use by hostile state as a tool.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida &Scaron;IMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, This year will be just as hard. It will require our unity. And that's why during the meeting with the President of the European Parliament, we talked about these challenges and about the decisions that are facing us. We are still facing important decisions on a long term financial programme for the EU and the further financial and military support for Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, We have a duty to not get tired to to continue to support Ukraine faster and faster in any circumstances and in any way possible until a Ukrainian victory. I am glad to see that decision was made on May to begin negotiation between the Moldova and Ukraine, and we have to continue working and we hope to see official accession negotiations to begin this march, this spring.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, We also discussed other issues. This march we will celebrate the 20 year anniversary in the EU. It will be a beautiful opportunity to once again remember that freedom and democracy are not ensured that we have to fight for them every day. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Dear Prime Minister, Dear Ingrida. I start by thanking you for your very kind welcome to beautiful Vilnius. I am pleased to say that today is the first day on my Get the Vote Out tour as we prepare for the European Parliament elections taking place here on the 9th of June.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, These elections matter because they will set out the direction of Europe for the coming five years because this country's elected representatives shape policies. They adopt legislation that affect us all from digital matters to health matters to security, to migration, to climate. So Sunday, the 9th of June is a chance for every Lithuanian to have a say on who represents who in Brussels.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Every vote matters and you have the power to decide. So my appeal, and this is what I will say also this afternoon as I discuss with young Lithuanians at the town hall event, is to defend democracy by taking part in such an important exercise.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, In addition, of course, to these elections, as the prime Minister has just said, we have discussed today the EU support for Ukraine, sanctions on Russia as well as enlargement. Let me thank Lithuania, its leadership, its people for being, I would say, the first to call for what the European Union has unanimously called ever since.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, That's the place of Ukraine and Moldova is inside of the European Union. Historic decisions have been taken if because of an unprovoked, illegal and unjust invasion by Russia in Ukraine, we have, as Europe, been very ready to open up our hearts, our homes. But our union most of all.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, So looking forward, Ukraine, Europe will not -his is the position that I carry for the European Parliament - waive on waiver on its support to Ukraine, whether it's financial, whether it's political, whether it's military support. Because Ukraine is not only fighting for its own territory, but as a now an EU candidate country, it is also fighting for our European values and so importantly, our collective security.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, So Europe must continue to show unity and solidarity. And that is what we look forward to. And that means that on the 1st of February this year, the special European Council, we must also find an agreement at the EU level on the continuation of the financial support.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Ukraine is very much in need of such support, which such as we call it Ukraine facility, we invest in Ukraine's recovery, in its reconstruction and its modernisation. And I continue to be confident and hopeful that an agreement can be found.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Last words. Opening the accession negotiations in December was a historic moment and we must make sure that we keep up the momentum. And as we look back at 20 years of Lithuanian membership in the European Union, historic milestone as we celebrate today the defenders of this country. This is where we realise the geopolitical strategic and future oriented investment of such historic events.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, And this is something that we will continue to work for, and I look forward to any questions and all the work that I will do with my colleagues, current and future members of the European Parliament from Lithuania,

Q&As Questions on the financial support to Ukraine.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, I want to recall one thing that Putin thought that he could overcome Kiev in five days. Here we are two years later, 12 packages of sanctions adopted by all member states, unprecedented strength and unity by the European Union in the face of an unprecedented aggression, one that is on our continent, where we have racked up solidarity.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, If anybody had asked me two years ago, I was elected two years ago, a few weeks before the Russian invasion, whether we would be today discussing already the opening of accession negotiations and proceeding with such with Ukraine, I would not have believed that that would be where we are.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, So my confidence and my hope is based on the success we have had so far in overcoming challenges, differences, different positions of Member states, but one where we somehow have found a way. Will it be easy? Absolutely not. Will it become ever more difficult? We are looking at the possibility of having extreme different differences in governmental or administration scenarios in other countries, other democracies around the world, and that is one that we need to be prepared for.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, So I look first at the next few weeks where it is essential that we find an agreement of it's not we would leave Ukraine alone if we leave Ukraine alone, and then we would all be responsible for what could possibly then come to happen on our continent. We talk a lot also at a European level, what is meant by peace on our continent. We are now currently facing two wars, one in our immediate neighbourhood, one in our vicinity here.

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, We need to talk about peace with dignity, peace with justice and peace with accountability. And I think on that, all member states continue to be on the same track together with the United Kingdom, together with the United States, our G7 partners. And that is what I will continue to cling on because any other option cannot be won. And we have no choice.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, I would completely agree with Roberta Mazzola. I would like only to add that you oh, this might sound like a cliche, but you is a unique union. We have to make a lot of decisions unanimously, and not a few members have to agree. All of us have to agree. So sometimes we have to negotiate for a long time.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ingrida ŠIMONYTĖ, Lithuanian Prime Minister, Sometimes it means that the agreement which we come up with is not ideal. Sometimes someone has to go outside to drink some coffee, but at the end of the day, all of the decisions are made. And I think that regardless of internal political issues that sometimes cause the negotiation to become a hostage, which is sad to see, but we have to remember that if we don't make decisions on time, everyone understands what will happen then. Even their rhetoric might not seem so. Thank you.