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On 23 July, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis received EU External Relations Commissioner Christopher Patten’s letter which emphasises that any decision on the Kaliningrad Region will also have to be approved by the candidate countries including Lithuania. The Commissioner reminded that while implementing decisions of the European Council at Seville the Commission would consult Lithuania and Poland before submitting proposals to the EU member-states. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Valionis sent a letter to Commissioner Patten on 28 June after the EU Summit of Seville, which paid a lot of attention to the issue of Russia’s Kaliningrad Region. In his letter, the Foreign Minister repeated that Lithuania would act in line with its respective agreements with the EU, the ultimate goal of which is Lithuania’s faster accession to the Schengen Area.