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At the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 31 January in Brussels, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius stressed that when shaping the European Neighbourhood Policy, the EU should apply same standards taking into account the pace of reforms in each country.

“The EU relations with its neighbours should be determined by case-by-case assessment of needs and the pace of reforms. However, we must always support the empowerment of civil society, the promotion of human rights and effective responses to crises,” Linkevičius said.

Two years after the beginning of the Arab Spring, the Foreign Affairs Council meeting discussed the situation in the Southern Neighbourhood and further EU support aiming at effective reforms. The Lithuanian Foreign Minister said that concerns over human rights, as well as uncertainties on women rights and freedoms still were not dispelled in Southern Neighbourhood.

In Brussels, Linkevičius said that the same principles should be applied to the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood. The Foreign Minister attended a meeting of the Group of Friends of Ukraine and stressed that the European Union was waiting for Ukraine’s decision on the direction of foreign policy.

“Ukraine holds key to the further development of the whole region and we hope to sign the Association Agreement with this country at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. But success is not guaranteed in advance. It will depend on Ukraine alone whether our hopes will become fruitful, whether reforms supported by the EU will be consolidated, and whether the country will dispel doubts about selective justice,” the Lithuanian Minister said.

The Foreign Affairs Council discussed relations with the United States after the country’s presidential election. During the discussion, Linkevičius emphasized that when advancing the cooperation, the EU and the U.S. should find a common approach to the Eastern Partnership countries, share information more effectively about the developments in this region and coordinate their support for reforms closer.

The Council also discussed the situation in the Southern Caucasus and in Syria, the European Union Policy towards the Arctic Region. The Ministers met with the President of Somalia to talk about the security situation in the region and the fight against piracy. Lithuania has proposed to send an autonomous ship guard group to the EU’s Naval Operation Atalanta in Somalia in the second half of this year.