Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda 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, the Lithuanian and Romanian presidents, as well as the Estonian, Latvian, and Polish prime ministers, say that the Kremlin regime is seeking to rewrite history and uses it to justify its aggression against sovereign states.
The letter was addressed 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.
Nausėda, Klaus Iohannis, Kaja Kallas, Krisjanis Karins and Mateusz Morawiecki urge the EU 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 the light of Russia’s intensive use of history for propaganda purposes amid its ongoing 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 say.
They propose promoting “the European Remembrance narratives across the whole EU” through 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.
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