Where strategic decisions are made: it also depends on the content

EVN Lithuania is represented by the head of the country G. Nausėda. How Delphi Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Professor of International Relations and Politics (VU TSPMI) at Vilnius University, explained the decisions usually made by EVS, but their change depends on the content.

“In most cases, the EVS takes strategic decisions, which are then detailed and envisaged by the European Commission. That is the general principle. Whether this principle is valid in this case is difficult for me to say, because it is necessary to know what has been said live compared to the later EC rules, but the general principle is that the EVS considers strategic issues, issues of principle, and they are already specific to law. must transform the EC into legal acts, ”said the political scientist.

According to R. Vilpišauskas, what may affect the final adjustment also depends on the content of the decision.

“It depends on the interpretation whether the new interpretation changes the political meaning of the decision or just adjusts the practical implementation – it seems to me that the difference is here, because if the meaning changes, it would be logical to have the consent of the Member States again, but also a legal issue.” , – emphasized VU TSPMI professor.

The decision of the foreign ministers may be enough, as he pointed out.

“The question is whether a decision at the ministerial level would not be enough, because they also approve sanctions when they are proposed in detail,” R. Vilpišauskas reminded.

Grybauskaitė’s assessment – not accidental? It is said that Nausea is involved even in reacting

Mindaugas Jurkynas, Professor of Jean Monnet at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU) Delphi said that Grybauskaitė ‘s public comment was only her opinion as a person who had left active politics.

“Now Grybauskaitė’s squabbling in a public space is a question of why she is like that now. I don’t have it: is it related to some political motives and desires, but it is noticeable, “the political scientist stated.

According to him, the people who work with the authorities on this issue have the most accurate information about the resulting information.

“I can’t decide the president in the EVS – he’s not the president of the EVS. Decisions are made on the basis of discussions. Naturally, the great powers dominate it. Of course, small states have certain red lines and that security so that Lithuania’s interests are not harmed, it is always that these positions are formed even before the president moves, and that mandate is confirmed, ”M. Jurkynas reminded.

According to him, D. Grybauskaitė’s rhetoric should be seen as a political shift, to which the president, a VMU professor, does not need to respond.

“The fact that the Commission provides some guidance means that that interpretation was not definitive or precise. Now, when the Lithuanian politician says that they are waiting for an explanation, the question arises as to why the explanation was not done before and we acted – if we acted according to the mandate and everything is clear, it is good, but if there is an explanation that will change our it is a question of why our Government has not been clarified before, ”M. Jurkynas discussed.

In this regard, according to the expert, all the rules needed to be clarified.

“Maybe once again we brave Lithuania and danced the first ones without securing the support of the allies – first of all, naked as in nettles, in the case of the Taiwanese mission. If you agree on a position, you do as everyone agreed, nothing more. “It is a political unpreparedness and a test of responsibility,” the political scientist commented.

Grybauskaitė: if there are other proposals, it means we have agreed

Delphi recalls that President Dalia Grybauskaitė stated in the LRT program that if new proposals for the transit of Kaliningrad through Lithuania appeared in the EC, they were coordinated with Lithuania.

“As far as I know, what can the management do and specifically the person sitting at the EVS table – there can be no changes without the consent of Lithuania,” D. Grybauskaitė told the LRT program “Topic of the Day” on Wednesday.

She emphasized that if any suggestions arose, it would mean that Lithuania did not agree but publicly agreed. According to D. Grybauskaitė, due to the transit of Kaliningrad, Lithuania had to express its opinion during the EVS last week.

“Lithuania does not have to send an opinion, but Lithuania has already had to say its strict position in the former EVS, which has just passed. If it has not been uttered and remained open to various interpretations and various shipments of paper, it is already largely a problem for Lithuania, ”said the former head of state.

Nausėda cut off for Grybauskaitė: the person is not aware of the real situation

President Gitanas Nausėda, representing Lithuania at the EVS, reacted to such words, saying that President D. Grybauskaitė, who had ended her term of office, had criticized him for speaking an unknown situation, based on assumptions and fictional arguments.

“I do not understand where that criticism comes from. A person who is not informed talks about it without knowing what the real situation is. First of all, I would like to point out that in EVS we talked about solidarity with Lithuania, because that is the goal of EVS, ”the head of state told reporters in Madrid on Thursday.

The president said he had briefed the EVS on the situation, with threats from Russia and “colleagues unanimously agreeing.”

“EVS really doesn’t make decisions about sanctions and that should be good for the president,” he said. – Well, I don’t know, maybe some kind of policy is being made, but assumptions to speak, or to rely on some unconfirmed, fictional arguments … You know, one person starts the sentences “who could deny”. It would be good for that person to remain original so that imitators would not appear, because copies are always worse than the original. “

Asked whether the fact that Lithuania intends to suspend the transit of other sanctioned goods from Russia to Kaliningrad means that the EC has no objection to it, G. Nausėda explained that he did not want to lose sight of it.

“It was one of our demands to the EC – not just to apply sanctions in principle, not just to avoid talking about some kind of green corridor, because we are setting these sanctions ourselves, will we not start lifting these sanctions with our own hands?” He asked.

Another question that Lithuania raised with the EC was related to other sanctions that will come into force later. According to G. Nausėda, a complex solution is needed, but it should be done together.

“We are well aware that the Commission is responsible for such a decision,” he said, adding that Lithuania had been consulting with the EC since last Saturday and hoped that the outcome of the consultations would be announced soon.

Kubilius: Unless otherwise provided, Lithuania must implement sanctions

Andrius Kubilius, MEP, also wrote about the transit to Kaliningrad on Facebook on Thursday evening.

“In March, the EU Council wrote in black and white on Thursday that no transit of rescued goods through Moscow and Kaliningrad is possible across the EU, even if the goods are transported by companies registered by the company.

The regulation provides for an exception for such companies to operate on transit routes, as the general sanction rate provides that Russian transport companies are prohibited from entering EU territory. But the regulation makes it very clear that even transit destinations can travel to Lithuania without the right to transport authorized goods, ”wrote A. Kubilius.

According to him, until the EVS decides otherwise, Lithuania has an obligation to implement all approved sanctions.

“It will be possible to supply Kaliningrad with Russian vodka in transit through the territory of the European Union determined only after the next Council, where Nausėda and Scholz will have the opportunity to discuss the possibilities of transit Moscow-Berlin-Kaliningrad. And the Framework Council is scheduled to take place only on 20-21 October.

Then by then you will have to burn to Kaliningrad to transport by sea. Or to withdraw the Russian army from Ukraine, because then all the sanctions will end, “the MEP wrote.

Rumors about the history of Kaliningrad transit should also be spread by Deputy Foreign Minister Raimundas Karoblis. Read more about it here.