Tadeusz Aziewicz: We have not yet set a date for another session of Parliamentary Assembly

Presidents of Poland and Lithuania, Lech Wałęsa and Algirdas Brazauskak signed a Friendship Treaty 20 years ago. However, the implementation of the Treaty still differs between Poland and Lithuania.

The presidium of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland and the Seimas of the Lithuanian Republic took place yesterday (January, 14) in Vilnius. After the meeting a co-chair of the assembly and a vice-chairman of the Seimas, Gediminas Kirkilas, said that there will be a mutual session of the  Parliamentary Assembly of Polish and Lithuanian Seimas and Senate in April.

“One fundamental issue raised during this meeting will cover a realization of the Polish-Lithuanian Treaty concerning over 70 points, most of which have already been done. As we mentioned before, only one and a half point has not been covered yet. ” – said Kirkilas. This was supposed to be the first mutual meeting in 5 years.

Poland has some objections about the time of this mutual sitting and made it dependent on the particular actions taken by Lithuania.

“We did not set a date for another session of the Parliamentary Assembly during the meeting in Vilnius. It is the influential assembly which acts on the basis of the Treaty and there is no point in calling a gathering when there is no progress in solving crucial issues. Obviously, if this changes, it is possible to resume work of the Assembly. However, recent experiences do not instil exaggerated optimism.” – said Tadeusz Aziewicz, a member of the Assembly who participated in the last meeting.

Parliamentary Assembly was established in June 18, 1997. In theory, meetings should be called twice a year, in Poland and in Lithuania alternately. The Assembly consists of 20 members, a representation from Polish and Lithuanian parliaments. Polish delegation includes 16 deputies from the Sejm and 4 from the Senate.

Source: http://zw.lt/litwa/tadeusz-aziewicz-nie-ustalilismy-terminu-kolejnej-sesji-zgromadzenia/

Tłumaczenie by Ewa Żakowska w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Ewa Żakowska within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.