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The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 10 February in Brussels, during which the Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius represented Lithuania, focused on the Eastern Partnership, the situation in Ukraine, discussed possible actions by the EU.

The Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine. It is also expected that the Council will adopt conclusions on the Central African Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, and the EU’s priorities for the 25th session of the Human Rights Council.

With regard to the tense situation in Ukraine, L.Linkevičius underlined that the EU had to continue to call on all actors to refrain from violence and to search for a meaningful resolution of the crisis.

“If the situation develops in an optimistic way, we will have to help the new Ukrainian government to deal with issues arising from the financial crisis. If the situation deteriorates, i.e. if the democratic deficit is a growing problem, the EU must be ready to respond quickly to any deterioration on the ground and even impose restrictive measures if it is necessary,” L.Linkevičius said.

The Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine, highlighting the readiness of the EU to further pursue efforts with the international community and international financial institutions to assist Ukraine, as well as to respond quickly to any deterioration on the ground.

In response to the European aspirations of the Ukrainian people, EU Member States expressed for the first time their conviction that the Association Agreement with Ukraine did not constitute the final goal in the EU-Ukraine relations.

The Council also discussed ways how to effectively support Georgia and Moldova. The EU is preparing to sign association agreements with these countries at the end of the summer.

When speaking about Moldova and Georgia, L.Linkevičius stressed that all the EU Member States had to continuously give their attention to the EU’s more ambitious partners through high-level visits, and that the Foreign Affairs Council had to hold regular discussions about the Eastern Partnership.

“We are delighted that citizens of Moldova will be able to travel without visas to the EU already in the spring. We encourage also Georgia and Ukraine to consistently fulfil all the requirements of their Visa Liberalisation Action Plans, and achieve the same,” the Lithuanian Foreign Minister said.

Today in Brussels L.Linkevičius met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos of the current Greek Presidency of the EU Council. The Greek EU Presidency promised to give considerable attention to the Eastern Neighbourhood policy and assured of their commitment with regard to follow-up activities.