„Members of the Seimas are free to travel. (...) Free people in a free country can travel and meet with whomever they wish,“ Olekas told journalists at the Seimas.
„Foreign policy is conducted by the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Seimas, and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the national level. They have an official position on how Lithuania is represented, who it should talk to and what it should discuss. Members of the Seimas are sensible people; I believe that their visit will not damage Lithuania’s image. I trust that the Members of the Seimas will handle the situation appropriately,“ he emphasised.
On Thursday, the Seimas Board rejected the business trip of Vėgėlė and Jankūnas to Brussels, where the MPs were planning to meet with Chinese representatives.
Parliamentary Speaker Olekas noted at the Seimas Bureau meeting that MPs could travel to Brussels, but in that case they would not be representatives delegated by Parliament.
Despite the Bureau’s decision, Vėgėlė confirmed to ELTA on Wednesday that he intends to attend the meeting at his own expense.
For her part, Conservative MP Radvilė Morkūnaitė-Mikulėnienė has approached the Seimas Committee on Ethics and Procedures, asking it to assess this planned visit.
The MPs intend to visit Brussels from 7 to 9 September.
ELTA notes that relations between Vilnius and Beijing have become significantly strained following the opening of a Taiwanese representative office in Lithuania at the end of 2021. Beijing regards Taiwan as a province of China and claims no right to establish representative offices in countries with which China maintains official relations. In response to Lithuania’s decision, China imposed severe diplomatic and economic sanctions on the country.