VILNIUS — In a meeting Thursday afternoon with his Lithuanian counterpart, Polish President Lech Kaczynski said the spelling debate over Polish names in Lithuanian documents was harming relations between the countries.

Lithuania needs the support and cooperation of its neighbor with its energy supply issues among other things, but a long-standing issue over whether ethnic Poles can spell their name using characters not in the Lithuanian alphabet has angered Poland. People with Polish names want to be able to [private_supervisor]use the symbols in the Latin alphabet on their passports, even if they aren’t in the Lithuanian alphabet. On the day of the meeting, the Lithuanian parliament voted down a bill supporting the spelling suggestion with parliamentarians of various stripes saying it would threaten the stability of the Lithuanian language.

Kaczynski said he was surprised by the Seimas’ decision to reject the bill authorizing the spelling of Polish names on their terms. He said he didn’t know why the government would deny Poles to spell their names with the correct letters needed for proper pronunciation. Around 200,000 ethnic Poles live in Lithuania, a legacy of the blurred boundary between the two countries during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and under Tsarist Russia.

Kaczynski said the denial of the right to spell names in their original forms is in breach of European Union statutes. In Poland, Lithuanians are allowed to spell their name as they wish, even if the spelling is not Polish.

The Polish president’s press service confirmed that he and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė had discussed the issue. Grybauskaitė is the second Lithuanian president to be confronted by the issue after previous president Valdas Adamkus.

The primary antagonist is the strong current of nationalism running in the politics of both countries and a history of linguistic oppression under the Russians that makes language a sensitive issue.

“The question is simply about radical political backgrounds … this is the politics,” Antanas Kulakauskas, a political science professor at Vinlius’ Mykolo Romerio University said.

The spelling debacle has been a thorn in the side of relations between Poland and Lithuania, which have been cooler than they could be for two neighbors and NATO members. The two countries are expected to cooperate on a number of levels including energy supply, one of the biggest issues facing Lithuania today as it transitions from its Soviet-era electric grid and dependence on the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, but this could have happened years earlier.

“I would like to stress that I am in favor of a very close cooperation between our countries. I am convinced that it is in our common interest, and in the interest of the whole region,” Kaczynski said, adding that he remains optimistic the issue can be resolved.

In a rebuke of the Seimas, Grybauskaitė said she wanted the law changed so relations could go forward.

“She wants to make the law and legitimize the spelling with letters that are actually already in the alphabet and in our official book of grammar, which says that the alphabet is like this, but there are also other letters, like w, x and so on, that could be used to spell foreign names — not just for people, but for any names,” presidential spokesman Linas Balsys told Baltic Reports. “The grammar is not the law, but it doesn’t contradict the law.”

“She supports the government’s proposal of the law that the name isn’t a question of linguistics, but of property. It is the property of the person and he should be able to spell it how he thinks is right,” Balsys added.

Energy links agreed on

The two presidents also discussed energy matters, as Lithuania and Poland are due to build both electricity and gas links between the two nations. Lithuania is currently in the process of building a cable to Sweden, which should be complete by 2016.

“We have decided to seek that the construction of gas connection between Poland and Lithuania is declared a priority project of the European Union and that this project receives full European support,” Grybauskaitė said through her press service. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]use the symbols in the Latin alphabet on their passports, even if they aren’t in the Lithuanian alphabet. On the day of the meeting, the Lithuanian parliament voted down a bill supporting the spelling suggestion with parliamentarians of various stripes saying it would threaten the stability of the Lithuanian language.

Kaczynski said he was surprised by the Seimas’ decision to reject the bill authorizing the spelling of Polish names on their terms. He said he didn’t know why the government would deny Poles to spell their names with the correct letters needed for proper pronunciation. Around 200,000 ethnic Poles live in Lithuania, a legacy of the blurred boundary between the two countries during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and under Tsarist Russia.

Kaczynski said the denial of the right to spell names in their original forms is in breach of European Union statutes. In Poland, Lithuanians are allowed to spell their name as they wish, even if the spelling is not Polish.

The Polish president’s press service confirmed that he and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė had discussed the issue. Grybauskaitė is the second Lithuanian president to be confronted by the issue after previous president Valdas Adamkus.

The primary antagonist is the strong current of nationalism running in the politics of both countries and a history of linguistic oppression under the Russians that makes language a sensitive issue.

“The question is simply about radical political backgrounds … this is the politics,” Antanas Kulakauskas, a political science professor at Vinlius’ Mykolo Romerio University said.

The spelling debacle has been a thorn in the side of relations between Poland and Lithuania, which have been cooler than they could be for two neighbors and NATO members. The two countries are expected to cooperate on a number of levels including energy supply, one of the biggest issues facing Lithuania today as it transitions from its Soviet-era electric grid and dependence on the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, but this could have happened years earlier.

“I would like to stress that I am in favor of a very close cooperation between our countries. I am convinced that it is in our common interest, and in the interest of the whole region,” Kaczynski said, adding that he remains optimistic the issue can be resolved.

In a rebuke of the Seimas, Grybauskaitė said she wanted the law changed so relations could go forward.

“She wants to make the law and legitimize the spelling with letters that are actually already in the alphabet and in our official book of grammar, which says that the alphabet is like this, but there are also other letters, like w, x and so on, that could be used to spell foreign names — not just for people, but for any names,” presidential spokesman Linas Balsys told Baltic Reports. “The grammar is not the law, but it doesn’t contradict the law.”

“She supports the government’s proposal of the law that the name isn’t a question of linguistics, but of property. It is the property of the person and he should be able to spell it how he thinks is right,” Balsys added.

Energy links agreed on

The two presidents also discussed energy matters, as Lithuania and Poland are due to build both electricity and gas links between the two nations. Lithuania is currently in the process of building a cable to Sweden, which should be complete by 2016.

“We have decided to seek that the construction of gas connection between Poland and Lithuania is declared a priority project of the European Union and that this project receives full European support,” Grybauskaitė said through her press service. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]use the symbols in the Latin alphabet on their passports, even if they aren’t in the Lithuanian alphabet. On the day of the meeting, the Lithuanian parliament voted down a bill supporting the spelling suggestion with parliamentarians of various stripes saying it would threaten the stability of the Lithuanian language.

Kaczynski said he was surprised by the Seimas’ decision to reject the bill authorizing the spelling of Polish names on their terms. He said he didn’t know why the government would deny Poles to spell their names with the correct letters needed for proper pronunciation. Around 200,000 ethnic Poles live in Lithuania, a legacy of the blurred boundary between the two countries during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and under Tsarist Russia.

Kaczynski said the denial of the right to spell names in their original forms is in breach of European Union statutes. In Poland, Lithuanians are allowed to spell their name as they wish, even if the spelling is not Polish.

The Polish president’s press service confirmed that he and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė had discussed the issue. Grybauskaitė is the second Lithuanian president to be confronted by the issue after previous president Valdas Adamkus.

The primary antagonist is the strong current of nationalism running in the politics of both countries and a history of linguistic oppression under the Russians that makes language a sensitive issue.

“The question is simply about radical political backgrounds … this is the politics,” Antanas Kulakauskas, a political science professor at Vinlius’ Mykolo Romerio University said.

The spelling debacle has been a thorn in the side of relations between Poland and Lithuania, which have been cooler than they could be for two neighbors and NATO members. The two countries are expected to cooperate on a number of levels including energy supply, one of the biggest issues facing Lithuania today as it transitions from its Soviet-era electric grid and dependence on the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, but this could have happened years earlier.

“I would like to stress that I am in favor of a very close cooperation between our countries. I am convinced that it is in our common interest, and in the interest of the whole region,” Kaczynski said, adding that he remains optimistic the issue can be resolved.

In a rebuke of the Seimas, Grybauskaitė said she wanted the law changed so relations could go forward.

“She wants to make the law and legitimize the spelling with letters that are actually already in the alphabet and in our official book of grammar, which says that the alphabet is like this, but there are also other letters, like w, x and so on, that could be used to spell foreign names — not just for people, but for any names,” presidential spokesman Linas Balsys told Baltic Reports. “The grammar is not the law, but it doesn’t contradict the law.”

“She supports the government’s proposal of the law that the name isn’t a question of linguistics, but of property. It is the property of the person and he should be able to spell it how he thinks is right,” Balsys added.

Energy links agreed on

The two presidents also discussed energy matters, as Lithuania and Poland are due to build both electricity and gas links between the two nations. Lithuania is currently in the process of building a cable to Sweden, which should be complete by 2016.

“We have decided to seek that the construction of gas connection between Poland and Lithuania is declared a priority project of the European Union and that this project receives full European support,” Grybauskaitė said through her press service. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]use the symbols in the Latin alphabet on their passports, even if they aren’t in the Lithuanian alphabet. On the day of the meeting, the Lithuanian parliament voted down a bill supporting the spelling suggestion with parliamentarians of various stripes saying it would threaten the stability of the Lithuanian language.

Kaczynski said he was surprised by the Seimas’ decision to reject the bill authorizing the spelling of Polish names on their terms. He said he didn’t know why the government would deny Poles to spell their names with the correct letters needed for proper pronunciation. Around 200,000 ethnic Poles live in Lithuania, a legacy of the blurred boundary between the two countries during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and under Tsarist Russia.

Kaczynski said the denial of the right to spell names in their original forms is in breach of European Union statutes. In Poland, Lithuanians are allowed to spell their name as they wish, even if the spelling is not Polish.

The Polish president’s press service confirmed that he and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė had discussed the issue. Grybauskaitė is the second Lithuanian president to be confronted by the issue after previous president Valdas Adamkus.

The primary antagonist is the strong current of nationalism running in the politics of both countries and a history of linguistic oppression under the Russians that makes language a sensitive issue.

“The question is simply about radical political backgrounds … this is the politics,” Antanas Kulakauskas, a political science professor at Vinlius’ Mykolo Romerio University said.

The spelling debacle has been a thorn in the side of relations between Poland and Lithuania, which have been cooler than they could be for two neighbors and NATO members. The two countries are expected to cooperate on a number of levels including energy supply, one of the biggest issues facing Lithuania today as it transitions from its Soviet-era electric grid and dependence on the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, but this could have happened years earlier.

“I would like to stress that I am in favor of a very close cooperation between our countries. I am convinced that it is in our common interest, and in the interest of the whole region,” Kaczynski said, adding that he remains optimistic the issue can be resolved.

In a rebuke of the Seimas, Grybauskaitė said she wanted the law changed so relations could go forward.

“She wants to make the law and legitimize the spelling with letters that are actually already in the alphabet and in our official book of grammar, which says that the alphabet is like this, but there are also other letters, like w, x and so on, that could be used to spell foreign names — not just for people, but for any names,” presidential spokesman Linas Balsys told Baltic Reports. “The grammar is not the law, but it doesn’t contradict the law.”

“She supports the government’s proposal of the law that the name isn’t a question of linguistics, but of property. It is the property of the person and he should be able to spell it how he thinks is right,” Balsys added.

Energy links agreed on

The two presidents also discussed energy matters, as Lithuania and Poland are due to build both electricity and gas links between the two nations. Lithuania is currently in the process of building a cable to Sweden, which should be complete by 2016.

“We have decided to seek that the construction of gas connection between Poland and Lithuania is declared a priority project of the European Union and that this project receives full European support,” Grybauskaitė said through her press service. [/private_subscription 1 year]

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