Baltic States – CIS, Education and Science, EU – Baltic States, Lithuania

Audronius Azubalis at the European Humanities University. Vilnius, 18.02.2010.

The minister and the representatives of the Nordic Council of Ministers met with the EHU's administration.

During the discussions with students, the Minister stressed that Lithuania, being a close neighbour of Belarus, fully understood the situation and the expectations of people in Belarus. According to the Minister, Lithuania is ready to support any steps of Belarus towards Europe.

Minister Azubalis said that the EHU was based on traditions of liberal education. According to him, the EHU prepares graduates that will shape the future of Belarus.

"We do not expect that the country's democratization and liberalization of economy will happen overnight," Minister Azubalis said highlighting that an independent, stable Belarus with free market and moving towards the consolidation of an open democratic society was within the interests of Lithuania and the EU.

In the evening of the same day, the Minister participated in the Nordic Council of Ministers meeting and discussed the Nordic-Baltic cooperation, Danish Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2010, implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, development cooperation, and the support of the Nordic States to the activities of the European Humanities University in Vilnius.

In 2004, for political reasons the EHU was closed in Minsk. At the invitation of the Government of Lithuania, the university moved to Vilnius in 2005. The university has been granted the status of a Lithuanian university. Currently, over one and a half thousand Belarusians study at the EHU. By inviting this Belarusian university to resume its activities in Vilnius, Lithuania has undertaken commitments to support it until there are real possibilities for the university to settle in Belarus. Since 2007, Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has supported the maintenance of the EHU premises and the programme LitPro. This project of teaching the Lithuanian language and culture to the students and teachers of the EHU is implemented by Vilnius University.

In 2008, aiming to ensure a long-term funding of the EHU, the European Commission initiated the establishment of the EHU Trust Fund and invited all the EU member states and international donors to support this initiative. In 2009, Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocated 794 thousand litas (230 thousand euros) to this Fund.