News

On 20 May, during the meeting in Riga, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas, Latvian head of diplomacy Maris Riekstins, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet and their German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the issues regarding the European Union, security policy and regional cooperation.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and Germany expressed conviction that an arrangement will be quickly accomplished regarding the mandate for the EU-Russia negotiations on a new Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. It is expected that the arrangement on the issue will be settled at the upcoming General Affairs and External Relations Council on 26 May.

The Ministers exchanged opinions on the course of the Treaty of Lisbon implementation and unanimously indicated that after the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, it was necessary to bring this Treaty into effect as soon as possible. Lithuania and Latvia have already ratified the Treaty, while Germany and Estonia are planning to ratify it in the nearest future.

In Riga, Ministers of Foreign Affairs also exchanged their opinions on the future institutional changes in the EU and the role of the European External Action Service (EEAS).

The Ministers discussed the possibilities provided by the European Neighbourhood policy of the EU and indicated that while implementing the goals of the Neighbourhood Policy, it was important to equally distribute attention to Neighbourhood countries both in the East and in the South.

During the meeting, the EU policy in the Western Balkans, the situation in Serbia after the elections, the situation in Kosovo, the EU relations with Russia were also discussed.

Ministers of the Baltic States and Germany exchanged opinions on the security policy and the NATO agenda issues. Minister P.Vaitiekūnas emphasized that it was necessary to take action to allow Ukraine and Georgia to draw near to the Euro Atlantic structures.

Heads of diplomacy of the Baltic States and Germany also talked about the cooperation among the Baltic Sea states, the upcoming meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States on 3-4 June in Riga.

During the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and the representative of the Regional Policy Directorate-General of the European Commission Colin Wolfe, Minister P.Vaitiekūnas appreciated the efforts of the European Commission and countries of the region that were made to prepare the EU Baltic Sea strategy. P.Vaitiekūnas stressed that it was especially important for the Baltic States to have a clear vision and plan to create a thriving Baltic Sea region together.

This is already the tenth meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and Germany. The first such meeting was organized in 1996.

Minister P.Vaitiekūnas invited the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and Germany to hold a meeting in Lithuania in 2009.