LITHUANIA RUSHES TO RATIFY EU CONSTITUTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VILNIUS 001401

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB AND EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/11/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV LH
SUBJECT: LITHUANIA RUSHES TO RATIFY EU CONSTITUTION


Classified By: Pol/Econ Officer Christian Yarnell
for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Lithuania became the first member state to
ratify the EU Constitution on November 11 when the government
rushed through a vote on the treaty on one of the
Parliament's last days in session. The GOL had previously
decided not to hold a national referendum on the
Constitution. Opposition MPs criticized the rushed vote,
insisting that additional public debate was necessary.
Although earning the praise of the European Commission,
Lithuania's race to ratify smacks more of show than good
statesmanship. Indeed, it may backfire if the Constitutional
fails to win acceptance in other capitals -- being first to
approve what others reject won't be much of a claim to fame.
END SUMMARY.

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Controversial Ratification of EU Constitution
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2. (U) Lithuania on November 11 became the first EU member
state to ratify the EU Constitution. Parliament ratified the
treaty on the last day of its sitting through a fast-track
mechanism, with 84 MPs voting in favor, four against, and
three abstaining. Although the vote was well above the
57-member majority needed for ratification, it proved
controversial among MPs who felt that the ratification
process was unnecessarily hurried.

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GOL Calls for Quick, Parliamentary Ratification
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3. (U) Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas and Foreign
Minister Antanas Valionis, Lithuania's signatories to the EU
Constitution, had urged speedy ratification and pushed the
document through Parliament expeditiously in order to allow
the current Parliament to approve it. Some MPs argued during
the final sitting of Parliament that they did not have enough
time to properly study the 500-page-plus document.
Opposition parties had called for a delay in the run-up to
the vote, but Parliamentary Chairman Arturas Paulauskas
overrode their concerns and moved for immediate ratification.


4. (C) President Valdas Adamkus had agreed with Brazauskas
and Valionis that a public referendum was not necessary. He
explained to the media that that the Lithuanians'
overwhelming vote in 2003 to join the EU was sufficiently
recent to render a referendum unnecessary, especially as
voters had already made four separate trips to the polls this
year. Arnoldas Pranckevicius, advisor to the President for
domestic policy, told us that Adamkus had not, in fact,
believed a speedy ratification critical, but had wanted to
avoid the costs of organizing another public referendum, and
he feared that voter fatigue might threaten the "yes" vote on
such a complex treaty.


5. (C) According to Pranckevicius, the Government also feared
there would be long delay if this Parliament failed to
ratify, since the next Parliament would likely take up more
pressing issues in its first few months of work. Tomas
Gulbinas of the MFA's EU Division added that the next
Parliament will contain a large number of new MPs, lacking
experience with the Constitution negotiations, who would have
required time to familiarize themselves with the issue and
the document before bringing it to a vote. He also claimed
that the GOL had prepared the necessary legislation months
before the October 29 signing of the Constitution but had had
to wait for the Rome ceremony before formally starting the
ratification process at home. Pranckevicius said that many
current MPs, especially outgoing Social Democrats, had viewed
ratification of the Constitution as a fitting, symbolic
conclusion to the process of Lithuania's European integration
-- a process for which they took credit.

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Opposition: What's the Rush?
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6. (SBU) Gintaras Steponavicius, Liberal Center MP and
prominent opposition figure, told us that he had believed the
rush for ratification a mistake and had called for a longer
period of public education and debate. He added that he
expects this Constitution to fail to win approval in some EU
countries, and wondered whether the Lithuanian public would
think it wise that their representatives so quickly approved
a document others were still studying or rejecting. During
the Parliament's final session, several MPs joined the
Liberal Centrists to urge public debate, although most
ultimately voted in favor of ratification. Hoping to mollify
such criticism, the GOL organized a conference on November 12
to formally present the EU Constitution to the Lithuanian
people.

7. (U) Petras Austrevicius, Lithuania's former chief EU
negotiator and now parliamentarian-elect, publicly criticized
the rushed procedure for removing a "bargaining chip"
Lithuania could have used in pursuing various goals within
the EU, such as securing additional EU funding. During the
Parliamentary debate, Conservative Party leader Andrius
Kubilius noted his concerns that the EU Constitution failed
to properly establish a permanent role for the United States
in European security. Kubilius in the end voted to support
ratification, however.

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Comment: Haste may waste public support
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8. (C) Although the European Commission was quick to hail
Lithuania's ratification as "a very positive development
indeed," most Lithuanians themselves are critical of their
government's strong-arm tactics in forcing the treaty through
Parliament on its last day of operation. The bumbling in
Parliament, with MPs claiming not to have read the
Constitution, took the shine off what the GOL had hoped would
be a moment in the sun. The GOL will now try to convince the
public that adoption of their new "Constitution" was indeed
in Lithuania's interest.
MULL