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The European Union and the Russia Federation has already settled the main issue of negotiations on Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, an extension of the pending Agreement to the new members of the bloc, including Lithuania. Commenting on this week‘s negotiations between President of the European Commission Romano Prodi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on signing a protocol on the extension of Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis noted that Lithuania had been ensured a smooth transition from the most favoured nation trade regime to the EU-Russia bilateral economic relations. The Protocol obligating Russia to apply the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to all EU member states as from 1 May 2004 is to be signed on 27 April. Next to the Protocol, the parties are to issue a Joint Statement on the EU Enlargement and EU - Russia relations. According to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, although the talks on particular phrasing were still continuing, the Protocol would in essence anchor a compromise acceptable to everyone, reached after long and difficult negotiations. The text of the Statement is yet to be approved by the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 26 April. Among other settled matters, the Minister mentioned additional quotas achieved by Lithuania for steel imports from Russia, an extension of agreements on nuclear fuel supplies, while the issue of Kaliningrad transit of goods was subject to negotiations within the customs cooperation framework. It means that Lithuania, just as the rest of the EU states, may apply the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) to Russian carriers.