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On 17 January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Petras Vaitiekūnas met with Member of the European Parliament Elmar Brok. During the meeting, the issues of ratification and coming into effect of the Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed in December 2007, were discussed. The opinions on the important matters of foreign policy were also exchanged.

During the meeting with the high-ranking guest, Minister P.Vaitiekūnas indicated that Lithuania expected that the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon would be smooth and it would come into force in the beginning of 2009. According to the Head of Lithuanian diplomacy, we have to make use of the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in order to open a broader discussion in the Seimas and with the public about the European Union and the Lithuanian European policy priorities.

E.Brok said that the European Parliament valued the agreement regarding the Treaty of Lisbon positively. According to the Parliamentarian, it is important that the Treaty of Lisbon should come into effect in time and the EU institutions and member states could draw their attention to the solution of practical issues that are important to their citizens. The guest was also interested in Lithuania’s attitude towards the EU relations with Russia, energy issues and the Kosovo status settlement.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs called the guest’s attention to the need to get ready for the implementation of certain novelties in the Treaty of Lisbon already. It is necessary to discuss the future functions of the European External Action Service and the way member states will be represented in this service.

Another important issue for Lithuania is the formation of the European Commission. According to P.Vaitiekūnas, it is significant that since 2014, when the number of members of the Commission will be reduced, the countries should be represented on the basis of a principle of equal rotation.

E.Brok also gave a speech in the discussion ‘The Treaty of Lisbon: What’s Next?’, which was organized by the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Seimas and the Representation of the European Commission.

E.Brok is the representative of the European Parliament at the Intergovernmental Conference, which prepared the Treaty of Lisbon, and a member of the board of the European Peoples Party group. Until 2007, E.Brok was the Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament and the main reporter on the EU enlargement issues.