There is an English saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Women often become these tough ones.

Some countries need extra stimulus in specific areas. Something has to be done against high youth unemployment in Greece and Spain, for example. But in the end, there is no way around it: The debt levels have to come down.

I don't subscribe to that school of thought that leadership can be altogether defined by gender.

I never had ambition to become president of the state or to accomplish more than men.

If there were more women heads of state in the world, the world would be more peaceful and better focused on the improvement of the overall quality of life and welfare.

From day one, my mantra has been - and will continue to be - that as a government we were there to serve the people, not the other way around.

Lithuania is a small country, so our contribution would not be that large. We are not afraid of our responsibility. We receive 25 percent of our national budget from the European Union. We understand the value of solidarity.