She continued: "The media has dubbed you the 'iron lady' because of the major cuts to public spending you have made in Lithuania. I certainly hope this won't be an iron presidency. My Group hopes that the MFF will be further improved on in September and that questions surrounding where the money for tackling youth unemployment is coming from will be answered.

 

"In terms of human rights and democracy I'd like to see action on Hungary and a call for member states to protect whistleblower Edward Snowden rather than refusing him entry into their airspace."

Gabi Zimmer also asked Grybauskaitė to address the effects of the austerity programmes that continue to be championed by EU leaders.

GUE/NGL MEP Takis Hadjigeorgiou added: "You are the tenth Presidency since the crisis began. And throughout all these presidencies the Commission has failed to come up with a real solution to the youth unemployment problem. We are talking about tens of millions of young people who are not only losing jobs but who are losing their dignity as well."

He also stressed that enlargement negotiations with Turkey should be suspended pending resolution of the Cyprus question.