This afternoon, the Secretary for Foreign and EU Affairs, Roger Albinyana, received members of the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament), Birutė Vėsaitė, from the Social Democratic Party (LSDP - Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija), currently in office, and Audronius Ažubalis, member of the Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS – LKD Tėvynės sąjunga - Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai), the main opposition party.

Vėsaitė and Ažubalis have travelled to Barcelona to participate in the International Visitors Programme organised by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT). Birutė Vėsaitė served as Minister of the Economy from 2012 to 2013 and is currently member of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Economic Affairs at the Parliament of Lithuania. Ažubalis, on the other hand, currently serves as deputy chairman of the committee on Foreign Affairs and is also member of the Committee on European Affairs in the Lithuanian Seimas. Additionally, the two MPs were joined the meeting by Jolita Blyzyte, president of the Catalonia-Lithuania (Ct-Lt) Association, and Miquel Vila, former Lithuanian Consul in Catalonia.

During the course of the meeting, Secretary Albinyana and both members of Parliament exchanged opinions on various EU affairs issues, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy towards the east, the current situation in Ukraine, the current challenges the EU faces following the Euro Summit as well as the European Council’s special meeting on Greece which will take place this weekend in Brussels.

Furthermore, Vėsaitė and Ažubalis also expressed their interest in the current political process Catalonia is currently undergoing and alluded to the similar circumstances their country underwent in 1990 to re-establish their independence from the Soviet Union (USSR).

This afternoon, the Secretary for Foreign and EU Affairs, Roger Albinyana, received members of the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament), Birutė Vėsaitė, from the Social Democratic Party (LSDP - Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija), currently in office, and Audronius Ažubalis, member of the Lithuanian Christian Democrats (TS – LKD Tėvynės sąjunga - Lietuvos krikščionys demokratai), the main opposition party.

Vėsaitė and Ažubalis have travelled to Barcelona to participate in the International Visitors Programme organised by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT). Birutė Vėsaitė served as Minister of the Economy from 2012 to 2013 and is currently member of the Committee on European Affairs and the Committee on Economic Affairs at the Parliament of Lithuania. Ažubalis, on the other hand, serves as deputy chairman of the committee on Foreign Affairs and is also member of the Committee on European Affairs in the Lithuanian Seimas. Additionally, the two MPs were joined the meeting by Jolita Blyzyte, president of the Catalonia-Lithuania (Ct-Lt) Association, and Miquel Vila, former Lithuanian Consul in Catalonia.

During the course of the meeting, Secretary Albinyana and both members of Parliament exchanged opinions various issues in matter of EU affairs, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy towards the east, the current situation in Ukraine, the current challenges the EU faces following the Euro Summit as well as the European Council special meeting on Greece which will take place this weekend in Brussels.

Furthermore, Vėsaitė and Ažubalis also expressed their interest in the current political process Catalonia is currently undergoing and alluded to the similar circumstances their country underwent in 1990 to re-establish their independence from the Soviet Union (USSR).

Lastly, during their visit to Barcelona, both members of Parliament attended the “EU-Russia relations: The view from Lithuania” conference which was organised by the Catalonia-Lithuania Association at the Palau Robert. Also attending this session was Catalan MEP Ramon Tremosa (CDC-ALDE).