News

On February 11, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic countries and Germany met for their sixth quadripartite meeting in Riga. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Antanas Valionis, Latvian Minister Indulis Bērziņš, Estonian Minister Kristiina Ojuland and German Minister Joschka Fischer discussed the enlargement of the EU and NATO, EU future and security issues. Discussing NATO enlargement Minister Valionis welcomed the German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's statement made recently in Washington D.C. referring to the opportunity for the Baltic States to become NATO members during the next enlargement of the Alliance. "This was encouraging news", minister Valionis pointed out. Minister Fischer backed Lithuanian Foreign minister's words saying that the Baltic countries were strong candidates to become members of the Alliance at NATO summit in Prague. On the issue of EU enlargement Minister Valionis emphasised, that Lithuania had good chances of concluding EU negotiations by the end of this year. He welcomed the proposal by the European Commission to allocate funds for the decommissioning of Ignalina nuclear power station. Lithuania who is chairing the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers and the Baltic Council of Ministers actively supports the development of regional cooperation. "It is necessary to progress with cooperation in the fields of energy and transport. The German contribution in regional cooperation is of great importance", Minister Valionis pointed out. He continued that Lithuania's cooperation with the Russian Federation was perceived as window of opportunity and a model for wider cooperation between Russia and the enlarging EU. Lithuanian Foreign Minister invited his colleagues to meet in Vilnius in the second part of this year for the next quadripartite meeting. Joint Communique