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A meeting between Lithuanian officials and a US delegation led by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs of the US Department of State Charles P.Ries, currently on a visit in Vilnius to discuss the process of Lithuania’s integration into the European Union (EU) and relations between the US and Lithuania, took place on 3 October at the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Undersecretary Rytis Martikonis of Lithuanian MFA, who chaired the meeting, welcomed the US intention to enhance partnership in Northern Europe and continue to work in the Baltic Region towards free and united Europe. During the meeting, the officials also discussed further development of the bilateral relations after Lithuania’s becoming a member of the EU on 1 May next year. Rytis Martikonis stated his firm belief that Lithuania’s membership in the EU will give “an additional stimulus for the US participation and investments in the region as well as provide a new qualitative basis for the development of Lithuanian-US commercial, cultural, scientific exchange and interstate relations”. “Lithuania as a future part of the EU-US relations not just brings along traditions of excellent and harmonious partnership with the US, but is ready to contribute to further development of the EU-US relations in all spheres of life,” Undersecretary Martikonis said. On the eve of the 1st meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference in Rome to start on 4 October, Rytis Martikonis presented the Lithuanian Government’s position on the draft EU Constitutional Treaty to the US State Department officials. The Lithuanian Foreign Undersecretary underlined the integral nature of security in today’s world and ensured that Lithuania’s position at the Intergovernmental Conference would be not to duplicate NATO structures and capacity in the Common European Defence Policy. Officials from the Lithuanian Ministries of Justice, Agriculture, Interior and Foreign Affairs as well as other Lithuanian institutions participated at the meeting with the US delegation.