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At the informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers (Gymnich), Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis supported the effective EU assistance to democratic processes in the EU’s southern neighborhood and the EU’s aid for the settlement of the crisis in Libya.

On 11-12 March, the situation in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, and in other countries of the EU southern neighborhood, as well as the future EU policy in the region were discussed at the ministerial meeting in Budapest, the capital of the Hungarian EU Presidency.

Minister A.Ažubalis stressed that the EU’s support for the countries in the region had to be country-specific and depend on the size, reforms and results of each country, especially in the sphere of democratization, good governance and human rights’ promotion.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister stressed that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is chaired by Lithuania this year, was ready to share its long-term experience in creating democratic institutions and civil society, as requested by its North African partners.

At the meeting, the EU foreign ministers also exchanged their opinions on how to improve mutual cooperation, so that the EU’s foreign policy and the activities of the Foreign Affairs Council would be more efficient, and discussed the process of the creation of the European External Action Service.

During the meeting, foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia and Romania circulated a joint letter to the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and the European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle on the review of the European Neighbourhood Policy.

The letter emphasizes the necessity to review the application of the EU’s financial instruments with regard to the EU’s neighbouring countries and to ensure more efficient use of those instruments, when applying the facilitated procedures more flexibly. Bearing in mind the democratic changes in the EU’s southern neighborhood, the foreign ministers of the three EU member states encouraged abolishing quotas for the EU assistance and called on taking into account the aspirations of the countries for reforms. At the same time, the letter stresses the importance to continue close cooperation with the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries with regard to their European integration ambitions.