Leaders of Lithuania, 4 other states call for increased EU attention to historical memory

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the leaders of four other countries have called on EU bodies to step up efforts to preserve historical memory, the Lithuanian president's office said on Friday. 

In their joint letter to European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, the Lithuanian and Romanian presidents and the Estonian, Latvian and Polish prime ministers say that the Kremlin regime is seeking to rewrite history and use it to justify its aggression against sovereign states.

Nauseda, Klaus Iohannis, Kaja Kallas, Krisjanis Karins and Mateusz Morawiecki urge the EU's bodies to take a leadership role in preserving historical memory and preventing the Russian regime from manipulating historical facts.

This issue is particularly relevant in light of Russia's intensive use of history for propaganda purposes in the context of the war in Ukraine, according to the letter.  

"Without an accurate, honest and comprehensive assessment of the past, we will not be able to effectively prevent future crimes on our continent or investigate the current ones in Ukraine," the five leaders said.

They propose to do this by promoting "the European Remembrance narratives across the whole EU" though national educational programs, providing adequate political and financial support to the Prague-based Platform of European Memory and Conscience, completing the project for a memorial to the victims of totalitarian regimes in Brussels, and stepping up the fight against disinformation.