SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA

SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA SEIMAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA RESOLUTION ON THE DECISIVE STAGE IN LITHUANIA'S PREPARATION FOR MEMBERSHIP IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC ALLIANCE 4 April 2002 Vilnius Now that the decisive stage in our pursuit of membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is drawing near, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, supporting and acknowledging consistent and steady efforts of Lithuania to become a full member of NATO, and witnessing commitment of NATO Member States to the enlargement of the Alliance, calls on all state institutions and the public of Lithuania to rally for this goal, and commits itself to spare no effort aimed at retaining by Lithuania its status as a leading candidate to NATO membership. To this end, on the basis of the cross-party agreement signed on 23 May, 2001 on Lithuania's defence policy in 2001-2004, the Seimas will uphold a sustained and systematic development of the Lithuanian Army and, giving, at the same time, wholehearted attention to the following, non-military criteria of membership: 1) development of an open society and an open, attractive and dependable Lithuanian economy for both domestic and foreign investors. Mindful of the strategic importance of the oil, gas and energy sectors for national security, the Seimas calls on the Government and investors from the West to put forth a concerted effort, laying, in this way, the foundations for economic co-operation of the Republic of Lithuania, the United States of America and the European Union Member States in a single Euro-Atlantic area, and for the development of an open and democratic society in Lithuania; 2) strengthening of fight against corruption by specific and effective means at all levels and in all areas of life of the state. The Seimas undertakes to ratify the Civil Law Convention on Corruption. The Seimas urges the Government in conjunction with Lithuanian National Chapter of Transparency International to perform regular monitoring of the incidence of corruption in our country. The Seimas calls on all responsible political parties of the country to reach an accord on the common policy in the fight against corruption; 3) only countries which are committed to a culture based on the rule of law are eligible for membership in the Euro-Atlantic community. Lithuania will enhance the ongoing legal reform which will eventually lead to improved administration of the judiciary and raise professional competence of the judges, prosecutors and other lawyers; 4) consistent introduction and observance of NATO criteria in area of information protection to prevent Lithuania from confronting problems encountered by the new member states of the North Atlantic Alliance. Our country must seek the reputation of a trustworthy partner in the Alliance here and now, therefore the Seimas commits itself to the implementation of the procedure of parliamentary control of the special services, provided for in the legislation of the Republic of Lithuania; 5) provision of information to the public on a continuous basis and increasing the public's resistance to misinformation is a task of paramount importance. The Seimas invites all political parties which support membership in NATO and which have signed appropriate declarations on this issue, their representatives in the Seimas, members of the Government and the municipalities towards a concerted action and work in order to provide to the public comprehensive information about the importance of membership in NATO for both the development of the state and security of each individual and the future generations. CHAIRMAN OF THE SEIMAS ARTŪRAS PAULAUSKAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA