Address by Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania, at the 10th Summit of the Three Seas Initiative
President of the Republic of Lithuania
April 29, 2025
Dear Colleagues, Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to congratulate you all on the 10th anniversary of the Three Seas Initiative.
A decade ago, Poland and Croatia came up with the idea to boost the development of the Three Seas region, speed up its cohesion within the European Union and empower the transatlantic link. Today, it is highly symbolic that this special summit in Warsaw is hosted by one of the founding fathers, the President of the Republic of Poland, my dear friend Andrzej Duda. Thank you for the important steps taken and for everything our countries were able to achieve by acting together!
In a challenging new geopolitical environment, the Three Seas Initiative - based on the North-South axis of interconnectivity - is gaining ever more relevance. We need more of it to ensure both our security and long-term prosperity.
Lithuania had the great honour of coordinating the activities of the Initiative. We were glad to welcome Japan as a new strategic partner last year in Vilnius.
Today, I also extend congratulations to Albania and Montenegro as new associated participating states, and to Spain and Türkiye as strategic partners. Together, we are even stronger and better prepared to connect the entire Three Seas region.
Over the years, our focus has significantly expanded to encompass digitalisation, military mobility, protection of critical infrastructure, and supporting Ukraine. The Initiative established itself as a vibrant regional and transatlantic cooperation platform - one that is highly successful, transformative and open to external cooperation and enlargement.
Lithuania began this era fresh from the success of building the LNG terminal in Klaipėda and followed with constructing a gas interconnector with Poland. Today, these projects serve the needs of the entire Baltic Sea region. They have already allowed Lithuania to cut all gas imports from Russia at the outset of its bloody war against Ukraine.
Early in 2025, the Baltic States' electricity synchronization with continental Europe through Poland was accomplished. From now on, the Baltic States are completely integrated into the EU electricity market and free from dependence from Russia.
I am confident that the Initiative will also contribute significantly to other large-scale infrastructure projects, such as Rail Baltica and Via Baltica. Serving both civil and military mobility, these projects have become essential to our regional development and security.
To this day, the Three Seas Initiative also provides a unique platform for enhancing transatlantic cooperation. Our region benefits greatly from the strategic presence of the United States of America, which is crucial for our deterrence, defence and energy security, and promises increasingly broader cooperation in new technologies, innovation and defence industries. To cite one example, LNG imports from the United States not only serve Lithuania's major needs but also allow us to play the role of a regional gas supplier.
It is also evident that our countries, representing the Eastern Flank of NATO and the European Union, should not only increase defence spending but use it for resilience. We must do more for our cyber security, carrying joint cyber research and defence operations, and protect our critical infrastructure on the land and undersea. Strong and coordinated actions are needed to safeguard our infrastructure in the Baltic Sea and to neutralize risks to maritime security and the environment posed by Russia's shadow fleet.
When it comes to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, Lithuania strongly supports the Three Seas Initiative taking a more active role. We must assist Ukraine - an associated participating state of the Initiative - on its EU integration path and support its reconstruction and recovery.
Ultimately, fulfilling Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations will be the best security guarantee. Thus, Lithuania proposes setting the 1st of January 2030 as the target date for Ukraine's EU accession.
Dear Colleagues,
Today, I thank Poland for its tremendous work in steering the Initiative this year and wish much success to Croatia, who will chair the Three Seas Summit next year.
I am truly glad to see the Three Seas Initiative growing and gaining strength.
We have this wonderful opportunity to enhance regional cooperation, build a resilient Europe and stronger transatlantic partnership.
So, let us work accordingly. Let us shape our future together!
Thank you.
Gitanas Nausėda, President of the Republic of Lithuania
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