The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania: There is a growing concern in Europe about the legislation in Israel regarding the judicial system - voila! news

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The Foreign Minister of Lithuania Gavrilos Landsbergis said today (Friday) in an interview with Walla!

At the end of his visit to Israel, during his meetings with President Yitzhak Herzog, with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, he made it clear that there is growing concern throughout Europe about the legislation being led by the government in Jerusalem regarding the judicial system.

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister with Eli Cohen (photo: official website, Shlomi Amsalem, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

why is it important

• The words of the Foreign Minister of Lithuania indicate a growing willingness of countries in the European Union to speak out publicly against the Netanyahu government's plan to weaken the justice system.

• The Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago significantly strengthened the countries within the European Union that lead the moves to strengthen the values ​​of democracy and the rule of law.

More in Walla!

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To the full article

what are they saying

• "During my meetings in Israel I had the opportunity to express the growing concern in Europe about the government's legal plan," said the Lithuanian foreign minister.

• Landsbegitz pointed out that European countries are looking very carefully at what is happening in Israel in the context of the moves to weaken the judicial system.

• "In the European Union and especially in Lithuania as a country that believes in the rule of law, the future of democratic institutions in Israel is something we are concerned about," he added.

• The Lithuanian Foreign Minister also said that from what he heard during his visit, he believes that it is not yet possible to know what the final result of the legislative process will be.

They are promoting the plan to weaken the judicial system.

Rothman and Levin (Photo: Reuven Castro)

In the news center

• The Iranian involvement in the war in Ukraine and the supply of attacking drones to Russia have dramatically increased the attention of many countries in the European Union regarding Iran.

• Last November, Landsbergis met with the Israeli ambassador in Vilnius Hadas Wittenberg and informed her that he is interested in coming to Israel to discuss increasing cooperation between the countries on the Iranian issue.

• In the classified telegram that Wittenberg sent to Jerusalem following that meeting, it was written that the Lithuanian minister criticized the European Union, which he said had ignored the Iranian threat for too many years.

• "We did not expect in the European Union that one day we would discover that Iran was knocking on our door. We thought that this was an issue in the Middle East that we needed to keep an eye on, but now we see that through its cooperation with Russia, Iran is getting closer to us and we need to respond to that," said Landsbergis in an interview.

• The Lithuanian foreign minister noted that the Iranian threat that was previously directed against Israel has now also become a threat to Lithuania, and therefore his country is interested in increasing cooperation with Israel with regard to intelligence on the Iranian issue and regarding cooperation against Iran.

• "We think it is necessary to stop the Iranian threat from spreading in our region. There is a lot of room for cooperation, including in the military field... We want to deepen ties with Israel, especially in the field of air defense," he said.

The big picture

• The Lithuanian Foreign Minister said that during his talks in Israel, he emphasized to Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Israel should provide Ukraine with military assistance, especially against the Iranian drones.

More countries in the European Union speak out against the legal revolution (Photo: Reuters)

For more articles in Walla!

on the legal revolution

• Rushing forward: the plenary will meet on Sunday to advance the legal reform

• Danny Danon: Conducting a dialogue with members of the opposition, there are issues on which a broad agreement can be reached

• The subscription to the hotline that can save your life - and now with a special benefit

What next

• The Foreign Minister of Lithuania said that within the European Union there is a serious discussion about declaring the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

  According to him, there is a growing consensus on this matter.

  "There are practical and legal issues that we still need to resolve, but I think that it is definitely possible that we are getting close to such a decision," he said.

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Tags

• The legal revolution

• Lithuania