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On 10 March in Brussels, during the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting (GAERC), to which the EU Foreign Ministers gathered, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petras Vaitiekūnas paid most attention to the relations between Georgia and the EU.

During the discussion, the head of the Lithuanian diplomacy called attention of his colleagues to the issue of visa issuance to Georgian citizens and encouraged hastening the preparation of a mandate for the negotiations regarding visa issuance facilitation and readmission agreements.

‘The dialogue between the EU and Georgia regarding visas is too slow. It is necessary to resolve this issue immediately,’ said the Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

P.Vaitekūnas also highlighted the necessity of getting more quickly prepared for negotiations regarding the free trade agreement with Georgia.

‘Lithuania understands the benefit of the free trade agreement and will help Georgia to get ready to meet the requirements. The period of preparations should be shorter, seeking to aid the economy of Georgia,’ stated P. Vaitiekūnas.

The EU Foreign Ministers also discussed the issues of future parliamentary elections in Georgia and means of strengthening confidence.

At the General Affairs session the preparations for the upcoming European Council on 13-14 March was discussed. The Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that it was necessary to take action and create a solid European external energy policy as soon as possible. It is necessary to set ambitious guidelines for this policy by this December already. The Minister also stressed the vulnerability of isolated energy markets, especially in the gas sector, and called for new projects and means to resolve this problem.

The Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke about the issue of a visa-free regime with the U.S.A. for those EU countries, the citizens of which still need visas to enter the U.S.A. In the Minister’s opinion, the European Commission should also be informed about the process and results of the bilateral negotiations among the EU countries and the U.S.A.

Heads of the EU diplomacy also discussed the Doha Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization and the issues of the Western Balkans, the political, economic and social situation in Zimbabwe, the situation in Pakistan after the election, the Middle East Peace Process and the UN Security Council’s Resolution on additional sanctions imposed on Iran.