At the award ceremony today in Vilnius, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola thanked the Seimas, the Lithuanian Parliament, for its decision to honour the European Parliament with the 2023 Freedom Prize.

President Metsola said in her keynote speech marking the Day of Defenders of Freedom:

“This award does the European Parliament a great honour. It will inspire us to continue our support of democracy. It will inspire us to stand up for Europe. Lithuania knows only too well what is at stake. Why we need Europe to stand up for our freedoms and our values. Why we must stand firmly for Ukraine. Why Europe must be the light that the world sees.”

On 23 November 2023, the Seimas awarded the European Parliament and Petras Plumpa, political prisoner and participant in the Lithuanian unarmed anti-Soviet resistance, with the 2023 Freedom Prize of the Republic of Lithuania.

The European Parliament received the Prize for its current efforts to consolidate democracy and human…