Embassy Vilnius joint seminar with Embassy of Denmark

On Thursday 26 January, the Embassy of Ireland in Vilnius held a joint public seminar with the Embassy of Denmark to commemorate 50 years of EU membership.

The seminar, held in Vilnius Town Hall, was entitled "Small states in a challenging world – How EU membership protects & advances our interests".

The seminar promised perspectives on Denmark, Ireland, and Lithuania's respective EU journeys, with a particular focus on how collective action can safeguard the interests of smaller Member States. The panel consisted of Jovita Neliupšienė, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Lithuania), Lykke Friis, Director of Think Tank EUROPA (Denmark) and Declan Kelleher, former Permanent Representative of Ireland to the European Union (2013-2020).

Prof. Dr. Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Vilnius University Institute of International Relations and Political Science acted as moderator. Topics discussed included the influence smaller states can wield within the EU, the value of prioritising core issues, the transformative effect of EU membership on each state, competitiveness, enlargement, and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

The audience was drawn from academia/think tanks, Lithuanian Government Ministries, the business community, media, diplomatic corps, and others, including the Seimas.