Press release, 26 June 2019
The Resolution adopted by the Seimas on the 450th anniversary of the Union of Lublin, an act signed by Lithuania and Poland 450 years ago (draft No XIII-3577), expressed the hope that the political identity and parliamentary culture characteristic of the old Commonwealth of the Two Nations will be recognized as an important part of both the Lithuanian and the Polish parliamentary history. The Resolution was adopted unanimously by 94 votes in favour.
Marek Kuchciński, Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, welcomed the Members of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in his video address on the occasion of the Anniversary.
Ratified 450 years ago, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland proved to be one of the most important phenomena on the European continent at the time, the Seimas Resolution stressed. The Act brought into existence the Commonwealth of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This allowed for the birth of a system of government that was unique for contemporary Europe.
The Resolution of the Seimas acknowledges that, in addition to putting the ideas of Renaissance into practice, the Act of the Union evidenced innovative legal thinking and maturity of the political elites of both parties to agreement. The Sejm in Lublin gave birth to a multi-ethnic and multi-religious community underpinned by republican values, tolerance, political negotiations, and mutual respect. The Commonwealth of the Two Nations bridged the gap between the East and the West, gave ideological support for the democracy of the nobility, and acted as a genuine Antemurale Christianitatis (Bulwark of Christendom).