‘Since its establishment in the 1950s, the European Union has become a union of values ‒ and this basically differs the EU from any other economic or trade pact worldwide. Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of the Republic of Lithuania, stressed in her opening address at the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Conference.
‘The Europeans never question such things as human rights, free elections and free media, the rule of law and pluralistic society ‒ they are the fundamentals on which relations of people and cooperation of member states are based,’ she said.
{movie}Dalia Grybauskaite explains why the EU is better than customs and trade unions.|right|13512{/movie}
According to the Lithuanian President, these values and principles would not be so clear and distinct without developing active societies. ‘People ‒ not the governments ‒ are the main actors keeping societies functioning. A state is void without its citizens and their interests,’ the politician pointed out.
Dalia Grybauskaitė encouraged the partners continuing to work on reforms to set up well-established, functioning and consolidated democratic systems and call on civil societies ‘to have a powerful voice if governments act irresponsibly’.
