News

On 17 July, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis met with ambassadors of the European Union (EU) member and candidate countries residing in Vilnius and discussed the main objectives of Lithuania, which will be set out during the session of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 21 July. At the meeting in Vilnius, Minister Valionis stated that Lithuania’s economic integration into the EU would be full-fledged only after the infrastructure base was put in place. The Minister pledged that Lithuania would seek EU support for the Lithuanian-Polish power bridge project and the transport projects "Via Baltica" and "Rail Baltica". According to the Minister, holding an extended Summit of the Prime Ministers of the Baltic countries on 4-5 September and inviting representatives from Poland, Finland, Italy and the European Union to participate should also help achieving these objectives faster. The Chief of Lithuanian Diplomacy stressed that Lithuania was interested in the implementation of the EU New Neighbours Initiative and maintaining the dialogue between the EU and Russia. The Minister emphasised the necessity of giving more attention to the social and economic development of the neighbouring Kaliningrad region during the Italian EU Presidency. Minister Valionis also reminded the striving of Lithuania to contribute to guarding of the external border of the enlarged EU and to establish the EU Regional Border Service Training Centre. Furthermore, the Minister supported the idea of holding several seminars devoted to the discussions on the developed EU security strategy and suggested organising one in Lithuania. Minister Valionis congratulated Italian Ambassador to Lithuania Bernardo Uguccioni on the beginning of his country’s EU presidency and expressed his gratitude for the efforts in creating the EU presidency programme.