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On 18 December, a sitting of the Lithuanian delegation for EU accession negotiations took place in the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The sitting was attended by Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, former chiefs of Lithuanian diplomacy Povilas Gylys and Algirdas Saudargas, the current and former chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas, members of the Lithuanian delegation for EU accession negotiations and heads of negotiating workgroups. At the session dedicated to the conclusion of accession negotiations, the almost-three-year-long negotiations were reviewed and the work of the negotiating delegation was appraised. Prime Minister Algirdas Brazauskas, Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, former chiefs of Lithuanian diplomacy, Director General of the European Committee under the Government of Lithuania Petras Auštrevičius and other high officials congratulated members of the negotiating delegation. Head of Lithuanian Delegation for EU Accession Negotiations, Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis spoke at the sitting and recalled Lithuania’s first steps towards EU membership, reviewed the works performed during the first phase of EU integration and set out the main tasks for Lithuania after the completion of negotiations. In a few months Lithuania will become a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. “It is a new stage and - I am not afraid of the word - a new stage in our history,” Minister Valionis emphasised. Speaking on the future, chief of Lithuanian diplomacy noted that “we should very responsibly prepare for signing the EU Accession Treaty, which will later on have a tremendous impact on our state’s life, we must make ready for the future work in the European Union and employ to the fullest all the possibilities available for observing the work of the EU institutions from the inside, so that on Lithuania becoming an EU member we could smoothly join the work of EU institutions without delay, start operating to the full capacity and successfully represent our country’s interests.” “At home, we should very carefully prepare for the ratification of the Accession Treaty and the future referendum on Lithuania’s membership in the EU,” the minister said. Minister Valionis expressed his belief that "in the nearest future continuing to work together we will just as successfully reach our ultimate goal – Lithuania’s full-fledged membership in the European Union not later than 1 May 2004.” During the session, members of delegation for EU accession negotiations received tokens of appreciation.