Dalia Grybauskaitė, predsednica Republike Litve

Predsednik Republike Slovenije Borut Pahor je 29. februarja 2016 na uradnem obisku v Sloveniji gostil predsednico Republike Litve Dalio Grybauskaitė in ji vročil odlikovanje Red za izredne zasluge za podporo Republiki Sloveniji pri vključevanju v mednarodno skupnost, utrjevanje prijateljskih odnosov in izvrstno sodelovanje v Evropski uniji.

Foto: Daniel Novakovič/STA

Utemeljitev:

Republika Litva je bila prva članica mednarodne skupnosti, ki je priznala Slovenijo kot samostojno državo. To je storila dober mesec po razglasitvi slovenske samostojnosti. S tem je utrla pot mednarodnim priznanjem slovenske države, ki je po mednarodnem pravu izpolnjevala vse temeljne pogoje za razglasitev neodvisnosti, a je potrebovala potrditev svoje mednarodne subjektivitete tudi od mednarodne skupnosti. Skupaj z drugimi baltskimi državami je Litva s svojo držo in prijateljskim angažmajem pomagala uresničiti stoletja dolga hrepenenja Slovencev in potrjevati pravilnost odločitve slovenskega naroda, da zaživi v samostojni državi.

Republika Litva je bila odkrita zagovornica Republike Slovenije tudi v prizadevanjih za članstvo v mednarodnih organizacijah, in tudi pozneje, ko se je Slovenija včlanjevala v evroatlantske povezave, ki so prispevale k uveljavitvi Slovenije kot moderne države, trdno umeščene v evropski prostor.

Predsednica Litve Dalia Grybauskaitė je bila pomemben člen te podpore že na samem začetku svoje politične poti, in tudi pozneje, ko je kot dvakratna evropska komisarka prispevala k uveljavljanju Slovenije v Evropski uniji. Kot velika zagovornica evropske ideje, po kateri imajo v evropski družini vsi narodi enakopraven položaj, je dosledno in jasno zagovarjala tudi slovenske interese. Kot evropska komisarka je utelešala evropsko idejo in jo vnašala v vsak, tudi najbolj oddaljen kotiček Unije.

V vlogi predsednice Republike Litve si Dalia Grybauskaitė ves čas prizadeva za kakovosten premik v slovensko-litovskem sodelovanju tako na dvostranski kot na regionalni in večstranski ravni. V odnose s Slovenijo vnaša odkrit, ustvarjalen pristop, v katerega vključuje širše premisleke o skupnih izzivih združene Evrope sedanjosti in prihodnosti.

Odlikovanje predsednici Republike Litve je izraz zahvale za nenehno litovsko podporo Sloveniji. Tudi za podporo v času, ko se spopadamo z resnimi varnostnimi izzivi, kakršna je migracijska kriza. Tudi tokrat je bila Litva med prvimi državami, ki so pomagale Sloveniji, ko je potrebovala pomoč evropskih držav za zaščito svoje zunanje meje. Litva je Sloveniji pomagala s policisti in tehnično opremo.

V letu, ko Slovenija praznuje 25. obletnico samostojnosti, želimo izraziti iskreno hvaležnost za podporo litovske države in njenih predstavnikov, ki so skrbno gradili odnose zaupanja in prijateljstva. V prepričanju, da bodo trdni temelji litovsko-slovenskega prijateljstva segali daleč v prihodnost, predsednici Dalii Grybauskaitė podeljujemo najvišje slovensko državno odlikovanje.

Prevod utemeljitve:

The Republic of Lithuania was the first member of the international community to recognize the Republic of Slovenia as an independent state, namely one month after the declaration of Slovenia’s independence. The action of the Republic of Lithuania paved the way for the international recognition of Slovenia, which, under international law, fulfilled all fundamental requirements for declaring its independence; however, its international personality had to be acknowledged by the international community. The friendly attitude and dedication of the Republic of Lithuania, together with other Baltic countries, helped Slovenians achieve their long-held aspirations to independence and confirmed the correctness of the decision of the Slovenian nation to live in an independent state.

The Republic of Lithuania remained an unequivocal supporter of the Republic of Slovenia during the time when Slovenia pursued its membership in international organizations, as well as later, when Slovenia joined Euro-Atlantic institutions, all of which contributed to the establishment of Slovenia as a modern state.

The President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė, played a vital role in providing this support both at the beginning of her political career and later, when she contributed to the recognisability of the Republic of Slovenia in the European Union while serving her two terms as a European Commissioner. As a strong supporter of the European idea that all nations in the European Union should be treated equally, she consistently and clearly defended the interests of the Republic of Slovenia as well. As a European Commissioner, Dalia Grybauskaitė embodied the European idea and brought it to all corners of the European Union.

In her position as the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Dalia Grybauskaitė made continuous efforts to strengthen the Slovenian-Lithuanian cooperation at a bilateral, regional and multilateral level. She introduced an honest and creative approach into the Slovenian-Lithuanian relations, which includes broader discussions on common challenges facing a united Europe now and in the future.

The order for exceptional merits is a symbol of gratitude to the President of Lithuania for the constant support of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Slovenia, including their support during the times in which countries are facing serious security challenges, such as the current migration crisis. Once again, the Republic of Lithuania was among the first countries to provide help when Slovenia needed support of the European countries in order to protect its external borders. Lithuania supported Slovenia by providing police officers and technical equipment.

In the year in which the Republic of Slovenia celebrates its 25th anniversary of independence, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Republic of Lithuania and its representatives, who helped to build strong relationships of mutual trust and friendship. In the firm belief that the strong foundations of the Lithuanian-Slovenian friendship will reach far into the future, the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė is awarded the highest state decoration of the Republic of Slovenia.