News

On 21 November during the European Union General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meeting Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis participated in the EU Civilian Capabilities Improvement Conference.

At the Conference the foreign ministers discussed the progress of development of civilian crisis management capabilities.

The Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union and the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, who delivered a speech at the Conference, stressed that currently the EU is very actively involved in crisis management – the EU conducts civilian crisis management missions on three continents. 

The ministers took a favourable view of the Member States’ capabilities and discussed the priorities of future actions.

Considerable efforts are necessary in the sphere of rapidly-deployable capabilities: all actions of the EU institutions and instruments should be coordinated, all the Member States institutions should be involved into the crisis management process, personnel training, mission supply should be improved, necessary finance should be provided.

In Lithuania 230 officers and experts are ready to take part in the EU civilian police, administration, rule of law and other missions.

Currently Lithuania participates in six EU missions: in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Macedonia, in Iraq, in Aceh province of Indonesia, in Georgia and from 1 December in Moldova.