New CNUE president

Marius Strackaitis is the new president of the Council of Notaries of Europe, the CNUE, this year. The official handover took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. This was no coincidence: Strackaitis is currently president of the Lithuanian Notary Association. Martine Schaeffer from Luxembourg has been appointed vice-president.

The notary profession in Lithuania has been rehabilitated for over 30 years now, and Lithuania has been a member of the European Union for 20 years. This is the first time Lithuania has chaired the CNUE, a fact noted by the dignitaries present. Among those present was Lithuania's Minister of Justice, Ewelina Dobrowolska. She spoke of the recognition of the Lithuanian notary profession, the importance of European cooperation, and the role of notaries in the European legal order, such as in implementing sanctions against Russia.

Priorities
President Strackaitis outlined three priorities for his term: strengthening the notarial profession and its competencies, digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI), and support for Ukraine. In addition to Lithuania, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic are now members of the CNUE Board. This meeting marked the end of the Netherlands' participation in the CNUE Board. The Royal Netherlands Notary Association (KNB) will, of course, remain involved in the various CNUE working groups and the European legislative processes relevant to the Dutch notarial profession.