News

On 29 October, the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius meet with Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-Margallo, who is paying a visit to Vilnius, and discussed the Lithuanian Presidency’s agenda, the Eastern Partnership Policy, and important issues related to the Southern Neighbourhood.

L.Linkevičius acquainted the head of the Spanish diplomacy with Lithuania’s Presidency of the EU Council and future plans focusing mostly on the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius this November.

The Spanish Foreign Minister expressed support to priorities for Lithuania’s Presidency of the EU Council and stressed the importance of energy security in particular. Just as Lithuania, Spain aims to achieve progress in creating the European Union’s internal energy market and to eliminate the existing energy islands in the EU.

According to J. M. García-Margallo, Spain understands the importance of the Eastern Partnership and, therefore, supports Lithuania’s aspirations and hopes for good results at the Eastern Partnership Summit. Spain will seek to ensure that it is properly represented. The two Ministers emphasized that solidarity and mutual cooperation were essential for successful functioning of the EU.

The Ministers agreed that it was necessary to reach an agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework as soon as possible. According to L.Linkevičius, it is an important source of growth and jobs for the EU.

The head of the Spanish diplomacy congratulated Lithuania on winning a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. L.Linkevičius thanked Spain for its support during the elections.

At the meeting, the Lithuanian and Spanish Foreign Ministers also discussed the situations in Syria and Egypt.

In Vilnius, the head of the Spanish diplomacy is also holding meetings with the President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and the Minister of Energy Jaroslavas Neverovičius.