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At the European Union’s General Affairs Council meeting on 31 January in Brussels, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis stressed that it was necessary to allot the needed public resources for financing the construction of the missing energy links.

“Only this way we can achieve our goal to create a single EU’s energy market,” the head of Lithuania’s diplomacy said.

According to Minister A.Ažubalis, the most important message of today’s General Affairs Council meeting is the foreign ministers’ agreement that all EU member states should be interconnected with an electricity and gas network by 2015.

“The elimination of energy isolation is a necessary prerequisite for Lithuania’s energy security,” Minister A.Ažubalis said.

Foreign ministers also discussed preparations for the European Council meeting due on 4 February, which will focus on energy and innovation.

In the morning at the traditional Baltic and Nordic foreign ministers’ meeting (Nordic Baltic 6, NB6), besides the preparations for the European Council, the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting was also discussed, paying special attention to relations with Belarus and Russia.

Head of Lithuania’s diplomacy expressed concern over the unrest in Albania and, as the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, called on the Albanian government and opposition to resume constructive dialogue, so as to achieve solution to the current political crisis.

The situation in Egypt was also discussed at the NB6 meeting. This issue was one of the key topics at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the European People’s Party a day before.