News

On 25 October at the European Union’s General Affairs Council in Luxembourg, foreign ministers discussed the preparation for the upcoming European Council meeting, the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will be held in Cancún, Mexico, and for the Group of Twenty (G-20) Seoul Summit.

At its meeting of 28 and 29 October, the European Council will focus on the deepening and broadening of economic policy coordination in the EU, and will hold discussions on the common EU position at the forthcoming EU summits with the United States, Russia and Ukraine.

Head of the Lithuanian diplomacy thanked the task force on economic governance for its recommendations regarding the deepening and broadening of economic policy coordination in the EU.

“We support the initiatives to increase the responsibilities of member states. However, it is important that the sanctions of financial nature related to the reinforcement of compliance with EU budgetary rules would be applied ensuring equal treatment between member states and proportionality,” the Minister stressed.

When speaking about the forthcoming EU-U.S. Summit on 20 November, Lithuanian Foreign Minister A.Ažubalis said that this would be a good opportunity to strengthen the transatlantic cooperation with the EU’s most important strategic partner. In the opinion of the Minister, attention should be focused on the areas of strategic importance with the potential of achieving real cooperation results, for example, on resuming the activities of the Transatlantic Energy Council and on strengthening development cooperation in Afghanistan.

The Minister suggested including the adoption of the action pan for a visa-free regime with Ukraine on the agenda of the forthcoming EU-Ukraine Summit which is scheduled for 22 November.

“We have to aim at specific results in our relations with partners,” Minister A.Ažubalis added.

He also highlighted the importance of further energy cooperation with Ukraine.

When speaking about the EU-Russia Summit on 7 December, Minister A.Ažubalis said that it was important to look for opportunities to resolve protracted conflicts in common EU-Russian neighbourhood.

The General Affairs Council also held a discussion on the submission of Serbia’s EU membership application to the European Commission, which should prepare an opinion on the country’s readiness to become a candidate country for EU membership and to start the accession negotiations.

Lithuania supported the submission of the application to the European Commission. However, Lithuania highlights the necessity for the Commission to evaluate very carefully in its report such areas as Serbia’s fight against corruption and the investment climate in the country.