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CHIEF OF LITHUANIAN DIPLOMACY SPEAKS IN FAVOUR OF EU FOREIGN MINISTER’S POST

On 18 November, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis participated in the foreign ministers’ session of the European Union (EU) Intergovernmental Conference, where the major attention was drawn towards establishing the EU Foreign Minister’s post and the ways of changing the EU Constitutional Treaty in the future. “The future EU Minister of Foreign Affairs will ensure better coordination between the Commission and the Council of the European Union in the area of foreign policy,” Minister Valionis said. In his opinion, it is important that the EU foreign policy would be united, effective and influential in the world’s policy. The new post of the EU Foreign Minister would be a reasonable step in this direction. After summarising all the opinions presented by the states, Italy, which currently presides over the EU, suggested that the EU Minister of Foreign Affairs would be a fully-fledged member of the Commission and bear the responsibility for the EU external relations. The EU Minister of Foreign Affairs would also chair the Council of EU Foreign Ministers. It is suggested that the EU Foreign Minister would have double functions in the Commission and the Council as well as double responsibility: the Minister would be subordinate to the President of the Commission and the European Council. „This suggestion is acceptable to Lithuania and reflects the previous discussions on the subject,” Minister Valionis noted.