Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ

Policy topics Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ is active on

What Rasa JUKNEVIČIENĖ has said (12)

• “Thank you very much. I want to continue the question asked by my colleagues earlier about Georgia. People have been under EU flags for over 200 days. It's good that the issue is finally being discussed in the council. I hope you are familiar with the parliamentary report on Georgia adopted last week. And there we are very clear on how to achieve break through sanctions sanctions. At least 25 plus member states, if not possible in the council. And most important question elections. Uh, I think Denmark could be the country that can bring together at least a few countries and try to mediate for new fair elections. Are you ready for that?”
  EU-Georgia relations
• “Colleagues, we are at war. Kremlin hybrid warfare strategist Kosachev openly says that their target is our societies. They want to change. Thinking of the people. Lies are the main weapon of and tool of the Kremlin. Unfortunately, Russian lies are constantly going out from European Parliament platform through the Kremlin proxies. And they do this paid for by EU money, receiving salaries and even money to spread the Kremlin's narratives through social networks, where they are spreading fear about Russia's war against Ukraine is not a freedom of speech. This is the spread of a totalitarian ideology called Russkiy mir. This is the same as if they were spreading Hitler's Nazi or Stalin ideology. Geology. And finally, my request to socialists. Your colleagues Lithuanian Social Democrats have formed a coalition with an openly anti-Semitic, far right party of friends of the Kremlin. It, like Orban, has started attacking the national broadcaster, intimidating its journalists. You must react and stop it, because this is where the protection of democracy begins. It must begin from ourselves. We have to fight and stop the allies like Moldova did.”
  Foreign interference in Europe
• “In the title of the debate. I would change the word normalizing to legitimization. Legitimization of war crimes. Both the red carpet rollout in Alaska, the return of Russian teams to sports competitions and their participation in the Venice Biennale mean one thing the legitimization of war crimes. Imagine if you did this to Hitler, and then you would understand what it means to open the door to Putin at the G20 meeting in Miami. To Putin, who has already morally lost the war in Ukraine. And now we must focus and increase pressure on this evil of the 21st century. The EU, the European states that will participate in the G20 must already make it clear they will not be in the Trump residence with a war criminal, Putin. We must not be afraid to maintain a strong backbone now. This is our responsibility to future generations.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
• “Dear colleagues, there are those who say that Georgia is lost. It is not true. Yesterday, the Georgian people are experiencing one of the most difficult periods in their recent history. However, Georgia is certainly not lost. This is evidenced by the letter I received yesterday from Elena Khoshtaria. I quote Dear Asa, I am humbled that my name stands on the agenda on Georgia. It is, of course, not about me, but about the Georgian people who have demonstrated incredible resilience in the fight against Russia. This is not a fight for one person's liberty. It is a fight for a nation's dignity and the defense of its European choice. I wanted you to know that I am ready to be in prison as long as it takes, and I have no concerns about my personal imprisonment. The most important thing is to mobilize enough attention on the strategic challenges that Europe is facing in Georgia, which you are doing so successfully as we are doing. Ivanishvili may want to use us as a bargaining chip as hostages, which we should not allow to happen. I do not seek my personal freedom. I seek freedom from the Georgian people for the Georgian people. Since Georgian people are committed to fight with the political, prisoners are committed to fight. And since you, our friends are also committed to fight, I am confident we will prevail. Thank you once again. Elena. Khoshtaria. End of quote. Georgia and Georgians, you are not lost for us. For European Union.”
  EU-Georgia relations
• “Grazie, Grazie. Presidente de la guerra in ucraina. Non si combate solo al front. Ma si combate anche se I nostri palcoscenico. Mentre I russi colpiscono. I civili colpiscono Muzi ukraini complex del Kremlin attenzione non semplice artisti nella nostra arene dei nostri galleria pensa la Biennale di Venezia al Maggio musicale fiorentino alla regio di Caserta e non e Apertura o dialogo e cuesta una estrategia de liberata Como usar la cultura per progettare un immagini di normalita per fa dimenticare. Crimini del Kremlin e NE e non possiamo isolar I regime di Putin sul piano diplomatico e poi a dal punto di vista cultural perché si tratta guardate dello stesso regime della stessa macchina e la guerra continua la nostra istituzioni non possono essere vitrine e gli strumenti del suo la causa e una scelta politica ed e anche un obbligo morale.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)
• “(15:25:29 – 15:26:45): I just want to thank shadow rapporteurs. We already had the first meeting together before we started to draft the report. And I was very happy to notice, to realize that very many of us majority of us, we are on the same page on concerns, on understanding the file. And also, I would like to say that to finalize this report later this year, it will not mean that it's the hybrid will be over. It's only the beginning of SEDA committee and SEDA committee to evaluate, to start to evaluate and to follow the situation, to follow, if our proposals, our recommendations will be fulfilled or evaluated. So this is a lot to do in front of us. The war is ongoing, and we have to be much more prepared. So thank you again, colleagues, for your input and especially to our assistance, be it assistance from the committee or be it assistance from our political groups or be it our assistance as members of parliament. Thank you really very much.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “First message. Engagement policies and economic dependence on autocratic regimes are dangerous. This is exactly what happened to us with Putin's Russia. Let's not make the same mistakes. Second, the EU China Trade and Investment Agreement cannot be ratified until China stops its economic coercion against EU member states. China's economic coercive actions against Lithuania and the EU back in 2021 grossly violated the legal norms of the World Trade Organization. These discriminatory trade restrictions, directed at an EU member state, challenged the unity of the entire bloc. Failing to take appropriate action against China's economic coercion will cause long term damage to the reputation of the European Union as a reliable geopolitical actor.”
  EU-China relations
• “So we must. Help Ukraine in this war is the main task of all of us today. I was very pleased with the words spoken by President of Finland. Instead of thinking that Ukraine needs Europe, perhaps we should think that we need Ukraine more in Europe. The US president's policy towards Ukraine, towards the war in Europe has unfortunately extended Putin's opportunities to kill civilians in Ukraine. I fear that we are going down the wrong path if Russia is indeed invited to the G20 meeting. We here in Europe will become even more vulnerable Ukrainians will continue to be killed if we fail to prevent the legitimization of Putin's policy. We must agree as soon as possible that sanctions against Russia will remain in place until the last Russian soldier leaves Ukrainian territory. Slava Ukraini.”
  Russia-Ukraine conflict (10th term)
• “Thank you very much, Minister. First, I'll skip that part of my question about Denmark's initiatives with Ukraine. A lot has already been said. Just one sentence. You lead by acting and not just promising. So welcome. And this is a model. Others can follow and must follow. Second, about the speed and financing is the key. Safe instrument loans give member States a clear way to boost not our own defence, but defence support to Ukraine. Unfortunately, participation of member states so far has been limited. Would Denmark be ready to encourage wider use of safe loans during his presidency? Could we expect a political call or initiative from your side to help activate this tool?”
  Defence spending
• “My country, Lithuania. The absolutely majority of people believe in the European Union and they are waiting for even faster decisions, especially regarding aid to Ukraine, frozen assets, eastern Flank Watch and European Drone Defense Initiative. People understand that the EU is becoming the mainstay not only of our prosperity, but also of our security. Our pensioners are not richer than the Spanish or Belgium, but they understand the scale of the threats well. In the Lithuanian budget, 5.38% of GDP will be allocated to defence next year. The next couple of years will be the most dangerous for European security. I call on the leaders of the Member States to understand this and remember the famous expression of the American statesman James Freeman Clarke. A politician thinks of the next election, a statesman of the next generation. European statesmen and stateswomen. Let us think not only about next election, which is important, but also about the next generations. Thank you.”
  Defence spending
• “Okay, thank you very much. First of all, I am very positive about the European Union's cooperation with India, but the participation of Indian troops in the Zapad exercise was briefly mentioned. We must say more. It is a very regrettable step. Zapad 2025 is the first time that India has actively participated in those exercises with Russia and Belarus with its own contingent, sixty-five Indian military personnel, in Moulineaux training ground near Nizhny Novgorod. It might not be surprising that Indian soldiers participate in exercises of some country, any country, but participation in exercises of an aggressor country, and when Zapad 2025 is an exercise explicitly, openly directed against the EU and NATO, was any EU position expressed on that?”
  EU-India relations
• “(15:15:44 – 15:20:34): Thank you. Thank you, chair, colleagues. Thank you for the opportunity to present this report. And let me start with a simple observation. The EU is already facing a form of war, Not conventional war, not tanks crossing borders, but drones over military size, sabotage of undersea cables, GPS jamming, arson, assassination plots, cyber attacks on hospitals and energy grids, weaponized migration, foreign information manipulation and interference, and more. Behind most of this, Russian intelligence services using proxies, disposable agents, and organized crime networks. Russia has mastered the art of operating below the threshold of armed conflict. Their objective is to weaken Europe from within, to create uncertainty, chaos, to divide our societies, to undermine trust in our institutions, and make Europe less capable of acting. That is why the first message is simple. Hybrid attacks are not isolated incidents. That is why the draft report takes a broader view of security. Taken individually, these incidents may appear limited in scope. This is why we need a European approach. No member state can see the entire picture alone. The EU's added value lies in its ability to aggregate information across borders, identify coordinated campaigns, detect patterns. It is not about replacing national responsibilities. It is about making our responses stronger. The second message is that resilience alone is not enough. We must also deter. Hostile actions must carry consequences. We need better intelligence sharing. We need common methodologies for better detection and attribution and stronger situation awareness across borders. We must also be ready to act fast. We need operational playbooks. We need pre agreed response options. The third message is that deterrence depends on capabilities. Political declarations alone do not deter hostile actors. Capabilities do and will to use it. Hybrid threats do not distinguish between civilian and military targets. The protection of cable, ports, transport corridors, energy networks, and communication systems is not only an economic issue. It is a security issue. That is why security and defense requirements must be embedded into infrastructure planning, development, and financing from the very beginning. This requires governments, armed forces, infrastructure operators, and the private sectors to work together more closely. Dependence on high risk non EU countries, particularly China, for the supply of network connected hardware and software assets is strategic vulnerability. As these technologies can access, transmit or control systems remotely. The draft welcomes the CERR directive and needs to, but implementation is lagging. And that lag is a vulnerability. Another key element is the protection of our information space. The information environment has become a strategic battle space. It must be treated as a security domain. Russia does not need to defeat us militarily if it can convince our societies that threat does not exist or defending ourselves is not worth the effort. Finally, the draft also underlines the importance of EU NATO cooperation and the importance of supporting partners like Ukraine, Moldova, and the Western Balkans. They are the testing grounds. We must help them and learn from their experience. Colleagues, the question is not whether Europe is being targeted. The question is whether Europe is prepared to respond. Europe must become faster, more coordinated, more capable, and more determined to act. Thank you, and I look forward to working with all political groups to strengthen the report.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022)