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President Ilves on the national holiday of Lithuania: we work every day to maintain our freedom and security
16.02.2015
The President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, congratulated the Head of State of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, and Lithuania in general on the Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania.
He recalled how two years ago he visited Užupis, the quasi independent republic in Vilnius, with the President of Lithuania, to unveil a plaque with the text of the Constitution of Užupis in the Estonian language; the text of Article 32 of the Constitution reads, as follows: "An individual is responsible for his or her freedom."
Estonia and Lithuania have taken the responsibility of being free, as individuals and as states, wrote the Estonian Head of State on the Day of Restoration of Independence of Lithuania.
"The independence of our countries, as allies of NATO and the European Union member states, is more protected and secure than ever before. However, our own history and the military activities of our neighbours in Ukraine over the last year remind us that freedom is not to be taken for granted. We work every day, here at home, within the Baltic-Nordic region and on the trans-Atlantic axis, to maintain our freedom and security. This will help sustain us and maintain our freedom," wrote the Estonian Head of State in his address to President Grybauskaitė.
Successful regional co-operation serves the national interests of each and every one of us. We will all gain from this. This is also one of the reasons why Estonia has remained determined and supported Lithuania's accession to the euro area – this now means that the number of responsible, rule abiding countries in the euro area has increased. The opening of an LNG terminal in Klaipeda will contribute to the energy security of our region in general," stated President Ilves.
"I do hope that the successful and happy future of Lithuania will include a number of large shared projects, including the Rail Baltic express railway that will connect the Baltic states to central Europe, modern energy solutions and, of course, the everyday visible and efficient contribution to security," wrote the Estonian Head of State.
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