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On 25 February, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Antanas Valionis met with Irish Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche, who was visiting Vilnius, and discussed the pending referendum on Lithuania’ membership in the European Union. Minister Valionis briefed the guest on the preparation for the referendum and public opinion in Lithuania. "During the campaign we will seek to acquaint the society with the country’s integration into the EU, to present in a language comprehensible to all not only the results of the accession negotiations, but also Lithuania’s prospects after joining the bloc. Ireland can be a model for us in a lot of aspects. I hope that we will manage to take advantage of the valuable experience of this country in the run-up for the referendum on membership," the minister said. According to the Irish minister for Europe, his country has got a recent and interesting experience on the issue of referendums. During the last two years, two referendums on ratification of the Nice Treaty have taken place in Ireland. In the minister’s opinion, a positive outcome of the referendum is the task for the whole state and society. "It is especially important that the referendum campaign should involve as many social groups as possible. This concerns everybody: political parties, trade unions, youth organisation and various other groups alike," Minister Roche noted. According to the Irish minister, it is important to prepare an adequate strategy of the referendum campaign as well.