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On 3 September, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis left for Maastricht, where he will participate in the meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) states. At the two-day informal Gymnich meeting, the ministers will discuss topical issues of the international politics: situation in Kosovo, Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, Sudan as well as relations between the EU and Serbia and Montenegro. The ministers will also address important issues of Asia-Europe Meeting. In the Netherlands, Antanas Valionis will also meet the new EU Commissioner for Energy, present Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs László Kovács and discuss energy issues important to Lithuania. Informal Gymnich meetings of the EU foreign ministers take place twice a year. During these meetings the ministers have a possibility to exchange their opinions on topical European issues in the informal atmosphere without the presence of other officials. The first such meeting was held in the Gymnich Castle in Germany in 1974.