The Centre of Europe

You are standing in front of the building where the House of Europe was inaugurated in 2013. It houses the two European Union (EU) institutions operating in Lithuania – the European Parliament Office and the European Commission Representation, and the EU agency, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).

The opening of the House of Europe in 2013 was attended by the then President of Lithuania – Dalia Grybauskaitė, the President of the European Parliament – Martin Schulz, and the Vice President of the European Commission – Viviane Reding.

Communication is the main job of the EP office and the EC Representation in Lithuania, i.e. to inform the Lithuanian population, the media, and interest groups about the activities of the EU institutions, as well as proposed legislation, and decisions. The EIGE is one of 40 EU agencies. Its aim is to promote awareness of gender equality, to mainstream issues related to gender in the EU and national policies, and to fight discrimination.

The House of Europe also hosts the European Information Centre, which provides information about the EU and distributes publications, as well as organising various events, lectures, and debates on EU-related topics. Before the pandemic, the Information Centre received around 6,000-7,000 visitors each year.

An ATM near the Bank of Lithuania once marked an important historical event for Lithuania. On the night of 31 December 2014, we welcomed not only the New Year, but also Lithuania’s new currency – the euro.

With the sound of festive fireworks all around, it was from precisely this particular ATM that the then Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, Algirdas Butkevičius withdrew the first ten-euro banknote. The banknote, printed by a Dutch printer to commemorate the historic event, is now framed and preserved for posterity at the Monetary Museum.

This ATM was chosen because it served several banks at the same time, so they all symbolically contributed to the event.

The ceremony was also attended by the Estonian Prime Minister – Taavi Roivas, the Latvian Foreign Minister – Edgars Rinkevičs, EU Commissioner – Vytenis Andriukaitis, the Finance Minister – Rimantas Šadžius, and the President of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania – Vitas Vasiliauskas.

Like the litas, the euro coins issued in Lithuania are marked by a knight with a sword and shield – Vytis. In 2015, the Bank of Lithuania minted 370 million of these euro coins with the national coat of arms.

When Lithuania joined the euro area, for half a year, prices in shops were written in both litas and euros. And some may remember a fun reflection of that time – the plastic holographic cards distributed by the Bank of Lithuania, which made it easy to convert litas into euros.

It is said that almost all Lithuanian rulers have resided in the Palace since the first representatives of the Gediminas dynasty. Thus, despite the fact that the palace was destroyed at the end of the 18th century, it has a rich history that has been closely linked to Europe since the Middle Ages.

In the times of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), it was the centre of foreign policy, where diplomatic relations between Lithuania and the European countries are still fostered today. In 2013, the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania hosted the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which was attended by the then President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and the leaders of all the EU countries, including the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron.

Before the adoption of the euro, the Palace of the Grand Dukes also hosted an exhibition on the euro to introduce the new currency to the Lithuanian public.

The garden next to the Palace of the Grand Dukes commemorates a woman who brought the Grand Duchy of Lithuania culturally and economically closer to Europe. Bona Sforza, the Italian wife of Grand Duke Sigismund the Old, arrived in Vilnius for the first time in 1528 to find a rather gloomy medieval city, and decades later she left a centre of Renaissance culture and architecture. Following in the footsteps of Bona Sforza were floods of Italian artists, musicians, doctors and lawyers; they popularised European clothing fashions, architecture and political culture, and contributed to important events in the country’s development, such as the drafting of Lithuania’s Second Statute or the rebuilding of the Lower Castle. The economic reforms promoted by Bona Sforza later helped the GDL to implement a major transformation of agriculture (the Volok Reform), as well as to adopt the three-field crop rotation, already known in Europe, which substantially increased agricultural yields. All this enabled the country to integrate significantly into the European economy. Grain trade with Europe via the ports of Gdansk, Riga, Königsberg and other ports became the main economic engine of the GDL for many decades, hampered only by wars and protectionism. The garden of the Palace also reminds us that thanks to Bona Sforza, Italian fruit and vegetables reached Lithuania: cauliflowers, green beans, leeks, broccoli, various spices, gooseberries, and currants grew in the garden. It was also due to her that forks and glazed plates first appeared on the rulers’ table.

Lithuania could not have become a member of the European Union while it was not on the political map of Europe. This square named after Adomas Mickevičius commemorates not only one of Europe’s most famous poets (Adam Mickiewicz), of whom Lithuania, Poland and Belarus are still proud, but also an important step towards Lithuania’s national liberation.

On 23 August 1987, a rally was held here to denounce for the first time the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, its secret protocols and their consequences for the statehood of the Baltic States. It was the first public anti-Soviet demonstration in Lithuania since the Kaunas Spring events of 1972. Despite attempts by the communist authorities to disrupt the rally and a smear campaign in the press, up to three thousand people visited the Adomas Mickevičius monument that day. Foreign correspondents attended the rally and translated into English the speeches of the dissidents (Nijolė Sadūnaitė, Antanas Terleckas, Rev. Robertas Grigas, and others).

The location was no coincidence – in case of danger, the square is open in all four directions, so it would not be easy to catch the participants. However, in the light of Gorbachev’s ‘perestroika’, the authorities did not dare to disperse the rally or to resort to outright repression. Of course, in the Soviet media the rally earned the epithet “the work of Western imperialists and bourgeois nationalists to stir up the Lithuanian population”, and later its organisers did not escape persecution and threats. Nevertheless, this action is seen as the turning point from which Lithuania’s national revival began. A year later, as many as 25,000 people gathered in Vingis Park on 23 August for the Sąjūdis rally, and a year after that, the high-profile Baltic Way rally was organised.

This building is familiar to everyone in Lithuania, because it was here that the Lithuanian Independence Act was signed on 16 February 1918 and a new state – the Republic of Lithuania – appeared on the map of Europe. As the symbol of the birthplace of modern Lithuania, this building is inseparable from the history of 20th and 21st century Lithuania.

The original signed Act of Independence of Lithuania with the signatures of the signatories was not found for a long time, until 29 March 2017. It was found by Liudas Mažylis, a professor at Vytautas Magnus University and current Member of the European Parliament, in the political archives of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin on March 28, 2018.

Founded in 1579, Vilnius University (VU) has seen different rulers, political regimes and ideologies. It was closed several times during its lifetime (once for almost ninety years), but remained one of the most important universities in Central and Eastern Europe. Vilnius University is a member of the European University Association, an association of 48 countries and more than 800 higher education institutions that cooperate, exchange best practices and promote research.

Since 1999, Vilnius University has been running the ‘Erasmus+’ programme, which gives students from Lithuania the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills in other European universities, while students from other European countries come to Lithuania.

VU is an important cultural and public education centre: in 2013, the University hosted meetings dedicated to the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and in 2020, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the University’s historic halls for a conversation with students.

Vilnius University undoubtedly represents Lithuania in the world and in Europe – on 6 July 2006, on the occasion of the Coronation Day of King Mindaugas, a model of the old architectural ensemble of Vilnius University was unveiled at the ‘Mini-Europe’ European Miniature Park in Brussels, at the cost of €250,000 (one third of the budget was covered by the ‘Mini-Europe’ Park itself).

Situated in the heart of the city, Vilnius Town Hall represents the organic life of the capital, where past and future, tradition and innovation intertwine. Every year, it hosts a wide range of events, from public exhibitions and municipal council meetings to celebrations of national holidays and welcoming foreign delegations.

Visitors to the Town Hall may notice a plaque marking the year 2009, which is significant for the city: a millennium after the first mention of Lithuania’s name in written sources, Vilnius became the European Capital of Culture. The aim of this European Union initiative is to highlight the Europeanness of European cities and the commonality of all Europeans. The ‘Culture Night’ (until 2013, ‘Let There Be Night’) and ‘Street Music Day’ events, which were launched during this period, continue to this day, and continue to raise the spirits of the city’s residents and visitors. Thirteen years later, the title returned to Lithuania, with Kaunas being named European Capital of Culture 2022.

The Town Hall has also been visited by some of the world’s most prominent leaders: in 2002, US President George W. Bush (the only US President to have visited Lithuania) congratulated the people gathered in the Town Hall Square on the invitation Lithuania had received to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In 2006, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, together with her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, also visited Lithuania.

After gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Lithuania applied to join the European Union shortly afterwards (1995). Negotiations for membership started in 2000 and on 1 May 2004, the country became a member of the European Union.

To help Lithuania prepare for membership, in 1996 the European Commission set up a delegation in Lithuania, headed by Henrik Ernst Schmiegelow, a Dane, in the building at Rūdninkų g. 18 in Vilnius. The Delegation had more than ten employees at the time, but after a couple of years, in preparation for the accession negotiations and as the number of staff grew, the EC Delegation moved to new premises at Naugarduko g. 10. The residence of the then Ambassador Henrik Schmiegelow was located there on the second floor.

For his personal efforts in developing relations between the Republic of Lithuania and the institutions of the European Union and to help Lithuania integrate into the European Union, President Valdas Adamkus awarded Mr Schmiegelow the Order of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas (3rd Class: Commander’s Cross).

After the Ambassador moved out of Lithuania, the European Parliament Information Office in Lithuania was established in 2003. In 2004, following Lithuania’s accession to the European Union, the Delegation of the European Commission in Lithuania became the Representation of the European Commission in Lithuania.

The Institute of International Relation and Political Science at Vilnius University (VU TSPMI) is home to the Centre for European Studies, which conducts research on the European Union (EU) and European countries. It hosts a wide range of events related to the EU and international politics, hosts academics, experts, prominent politicians and other distinguished guests, and has many Lithuanian diplomats who have graduated from this educational institution. For those interested in the EU’s political and economic processes, the Institute offers a Masters in European Studies.

‘Pasaka’, located at the intersection of two streets, is the only cinema in Vilnius Old Town. Its entrance is decorated with the grotesquely painted characters from ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and greets every passer-by. The small cinema, which has a special Old Town atmosphere, is a great favourite with cinema connoisseurs and those who want to discover art-house and European cinema.

The ‘Pasaka’ cinema is a member of the prestigious association ‘Europa Cinemas’, which unites non-commercial cinemas in Europe and the world. The cinema, which focuses on quality cinema, actively participates in shaping the future vision of European cinema and introduces the audience to European films, at least 35% of which are included in the repertoire of ‘Pasaka’.

The ‘Pasaka’ Cinema is also a long-standing partner of the LUX Film Award free screenings. Named after the Latin word ‘lux’ (‘light’), the award was established by the European Parliament to honour films that celebrate European values and Europe’s cultural diversity. From 2020, European audiences can vote online for their favourite film and, together with Members of the European Parliament, choose the winner of the LUX Award from among three finalists.

The house at Tauro g. 10 has become an extraordinary ‘participant’ in history. In 1975, the dissident Andrei Sakharov stayed there. This famous Soviet physicist, who was involved in the development of atomic and hydrogen weapons, later realised the moral and political implications of his work and the threat of nuclear weapons to humanity. Sakharov devoted the rest of his life to the defence of human rights, political prisoners, and people repressed by the Soviet authorities, and was therefore constantly under supervision and surveillance by the authorities.

In 1975, Sakharov came to Vilnius to attend the trial of his close friend Sergei Kovalev, who had been detained for supporting Lithuanian dissidents. He stayed in the apartment of Eitan Finkelstein, who a year later became one of the founders of the Lithuanian Helsinki Group. Sakharov was due to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that very day, but he was forbidden to travel abroad, so his wife, Yelena Bonner, also a well-known dissident, received the prize in Oslo.

In 1988, the European Parliament created the Sakharov Prize in recognition of Sakharov’s role in the changes that precipitated the collapse of the Soviet Union. Among the laureates are the Belarusian democratic opposition, the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, Arab Spring activists, the Russian human rights organisation ‘Memorial’, Nelson Mandela and many other human rights defenders.

1. Sakharov was first honoured in Lithuania in 1991, when a square near the Press Building in Vilnius was named after him. In 2003, he was awarded the Lithuanian Order of the Vytis Cross. In 2011, a monument was unveiled in Sakharov Square – a granite sculptural bench.

In May 1998, the European Committee to the Government of the Republic of Lithuania started working in this building. Its main objective was to coordinate the country’s accession to the European Union. The European Committee was chaired by the current MEP Petras Auštrevičius, who was Lithuania’s chief negotiator for EU membership.

One of the Committee’s main tasks was to coordinate the transposition of all existing EU legislation (the acquis communautaire) into Lithuanian law. How big is the acquis communautaire? Some sources say that the it consists of around 80,000 different pieces of legislation. Others count the pages and mention a volume of 170,000 pages. It is said that on some days, when workers were forced to stay at work for long hours, Mr Auštrevičius treated them to burgers bought from the recently opened McDonald’s restaurant.

In addition to negotiating and coordinating the transposition of legislation, the European Committee was responsible for raising public awareness of EU membership and for the information campaign for the EU accession referendum. In the run-up to the EU referendum, an information bus travelled around Lithuania, organising meetings and discussions in the regions to answer people’s questions and concerns. 

The Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania – the democratically elected parliament of the nation’s representatives – is an active and integral participant in, or initiator of, all the country’s major events. It was here that the Act of the Supreme Council – the Reconstituent Seimas – was adopted on 11 March 1990, declaring the restoration of Lithuania’s independence. It was here that crowds of people gathered in 1991 to defend and protect the country’s independence. It is here that all of Lithuania’s legislation is adopted and international treaties are ratified.

Following the signing of the Treaty of Accession to the EU in 2003, a universal referendum on Lithuania’s accession to the EU was held. More than 63% of the electorate took part in the referendum, of whom 91.07% voted in favour of EU membership.

During the referendum, the Seimas hosted a media information centre, and after the results were announced, a festive celebration was held here, where a celebratory cake was cut and distributed by the then leaders of the country, President Valdas Adamkus, Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, and Speaker of the Seimas – Artūras Paulauskas.

Following the referendum results, the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania was given a mandate to ratify the EU Accession Treaty and on 1 May 2004, Lithuania became a full member of the EU, along with nine other countries.

The Seimas actively engages with the European Parliament when adopting legislation. The Seimas Committee on European Affairs is attended by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and other ministers, who coordinate Lithuania’s position on various issues and present it to the Council of the European Union.

1 May 2004 Lithuania’s accession to the European Union was marked by a number of festive events and innovations in Vilnius. ‘Europa’ Square and the ‘Europa Business Centre’ were symbolically opened that day. The celebrations continued in the nearby shopping and leisure centre of the same name, ‘Europa’, with live music, gifts and a fashion show.

‘Europa’, on the right bank of the River Neris, is the tallest skyscraper in the Baltic States. In the years following the opening of ‘Europa’, more modern buildings have risen on Konstitucijos Avenue, forming an urban hill that has become the core of the new Vilnius city centre. Interestingly, another building that was given the European name in 2004 is in Brussels. It is the seat of the European Council and the Council of the EU, where EU summits and ministerial meetings are held.