Lithuanian Seimas Speaker Viktoras Pranckietis has addressed students of general education schools and gymnasiums on sidelines of their meeting with signatories of Lithuania’s Independence Act in the Lithuanian Parliament. In his address, the speaker said Lithuania is experiencing golden age, BaltNews.lt reports.
“Perhaps, the country experienced that age under Vytautas The Great (he meant Grand Duke Vytautas, who ruled in the 14th-15th centuries – EADaily’s note), probably in 1939 and now. We want to say how badly we feel now. However, if we knew how it could be and badly our parents, grandfathers and grandmothers felt in Siberia and how our brothers felt in prisons in Soviet period…You simply has never seen that lack of freedom…” the speaker told students and advised them to “value the freedom, independence and values that exist in Lithuania today.”
Meantime, Pranckietis’ opinion on the “golden age of Lithuania” differs from viewpoint of Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis, who believes that the country needs reforms to awaken the public and business-environment. “We have been observing no progress (of the country – EADaily’s note) for a couple of years already. In 2014-2016, we have not even come closer to the average life in EU,” he said. In his words, Lithuania’s development rate has increased by 50% with accession to EU, but it stopped four years ago. “We will see no progress in Lithuania without ambitions structural reforms,” the prime minister said.