News

On 27 September, the Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Vytautas Leškevičius met with members of the General Affairs Council’s Working Group, who are taking part in the informal meeting of the Working Group in Vilnius, and discussed important institutional issues of the European Union.

The Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister acquainted members of the General Affairs Council’s Working Group with key achievements of the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council. V.Leškevičius highlighted the Council’s agreement on the next year’s EU budget, the completion of the EU-Georgia free trade negotiations and the launch of the EU-US free trade negotiations. The Vice-Minister also presented the Council’s key tasks for the future, highlighting the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius and the agreement on financial framework programs.

The Vice-Minister informed the participants of the meeting about the outcomes of discussions on the next European Parliament elections and cooperation between the Council and the European Parliament, which were held during the informal General Affairs Council meeting in Vilnius.

The participants of the meeting exchanged views on a draft regulation on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations, which was being discussed by the members of the General Affairs Council’s Working Group. The meeting stressed the Lithuanian Presidency’s resolve to achieve progress in considering this important document at the Council and discussing it with the European Parliament.

The on-going informal meeting of the General Affairs Council’s Working Group in Vilnius is attended by members of the group, representatives of the Council’s Secretariat and the European Commission.