Vilnius – ESI on Lithuania as a model European success story

1 April 2026
Gerald with Commissioner Kubilius. Photo: ESI
Gerald with Commissioner Kubilius. Photo: ESI

ESI’s Gerald Knaus travelled to Vilnius as the narrator for the upcoming documentary film “The Miracle of a Nation”. The film documents Lithuania’s success in becoming a prosperous, democratic European state in the only three decades since the end of the country’s Soviet occupation.

While in Vilnius, Gerald also met with senior officials from the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, including Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys. In addition, Gerald met with former Lithuanian Prime Minister and European Commissioner for Defence and Space Andrius Kubilius.

In these meetings, Gerald discussed ESI’s research as well as how Europe can best support the Baltics and Ukraine in the face of Russian imperialism. He emphasized ESI’s commitment to deepening integration in Eastern Europe, including its proposal to welcome into the EU single market any EU candidate country which fulfils the accession criteria.