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On 15 June, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Kęstutis Budrys, attended the meeting of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg.

In the address to his EU counterparts, the Minister stressed that as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine and hybrid attacks against Europe, Lithuania calls for maintaining the unity of the EU and responding with decisive action - strengthening support for Ukraine and further intensifying international pressure on Russia. According to Budrys, it is necessary to maintain pressure on Russia and its accomplices by imposing a maritime services ban, sanctioning Rosatom, Rosneft, and Lukoil.

The Council meeting approved new individual sanctions against Russia over destabilising activities and disinformation campaigns, those responsible for Navalny's murder, and sanctions targeting Russian natural and legal entities involved in the military industry.

The Minister welcomed the opening of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.

“We should provide Ukraine with a security shelter – full EU membership as soon as possible. Ukraine and its people, every day, demonstrate courageously that they belong to the family of a democratic Europe by resisting Russian attacks. We welcome the consensus finally reached among the member states on the opening of the first  accession negotiations cluster with Ukraine and Moldova. We also call for the opening of the remaining five ones with Ukraine and Moldova before the end of July to catch up for lost time and to validate the technical preparatory work conducted by both countries throughout the year," said Budrys.

EU Foreign Ministers also discussed the situation in the Middle East. Budrys  welcomed the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran and expressed hope that  it would help bring more stability to the region. "It is important to understand that the Iranian regime has not changed. It is in the EU's interest to stop threats arising from Iran's nuclear programme, missile programme, and support for Russia's aggression against Ukraine," the Minister said.

When discussing EU-China relations, the head of Lithuania's diplomacy stressed the need for EU member states to act in a coordinated manner and ensure EU unity in order to respond to the threats posed by China.

"China seeks to dominate global markets and technologies by deploying aggressive industrial policies and export restrictions to control critical raw materials. This poses a direct threat to the EU’s economic security and competitiveness. Ensuring a level playing field in the global market and reducing risks through the increased use of existing and the development of new resilience instruments, including to counter overcapacity and strengthen resilience, must be a priority for the EU," said Budrys.


Photos: The European Union