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The upcoming European Union-Russia Summit will present a good opportunity to aim at making progress in the EU-Russian relations, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Egidijus Meilūnas said at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on 22 November in Brussels.At the Council, heads of the EU’s diplomacy discussed preparations for the forthcoming EU summits with Russia, India and Africa, and for the Summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Astana.

According to Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas, the EU summit with Russia will allow to make progress in such areas of the EU-Russia relations as Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, energy security, and negotiations on the EU’s new agreement with Russia regarding bilateral relations. In Lithuania’s opinion, the new agreement should be of a better quality than the existing one, and especially in the area of trade.

Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas noted that the EU’s suggestion for Russia to draw up a list of joint actions towards the establishment of a visa-free regime was appropriate and compatible with the EU’s offers to other EU’s Eastern neighbours. According to the Vice-Minister, the path towards a visa-free regime for Russia is based on the application of necessary practical measures.

At the FAC, EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton informed about some elements of the progress report on the EU’s relations with its strategic partners, which is being drafted and will be presented in December.

The Vice-Minister believes that relations with every country that is important to the EU are individual, they must be based on common interests of the EU and should emphasize the protection of human rights.

Foreign ministers also discussed the EU’s position at the OSCE Summit on 1 December in Astana.

It is particularly important for Lithuania that the EU member states maintain a single position regarding key issues on the OSCE’s agenda. In Lithuania’s opinion, the most important outcome of the forthcoming OSCE Summit would be the approval of the existing principles, norms and commitments of the organization. The document adopted at the OSCE Summit in Astana must clearly identify the so-called protracted conflicts in Georgia, Transnistria and Nagorno-Karabakh. The main objective of the OSCE Summit is the Action Plan for the Corfu process, which is dedicated to the discussion of topical European security issues.

Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas noted that the implementation of the outcomes of the Astana Summit would be the main task for Lithuania’s chairmanship of the OSCE in 2011. Solution of protracted conflicts, media freedom and safety of journalists, international threats and cyber security are among the major topics of Lithuania’s chairmanship.

The FAC also discussed the situation in Sudan, relations with Iran, the elections of 7 November in Burma/Myanmar that were held for the first time in 20 years and the decision of 14 November to release the country’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

Lithuania and other EU member states call for the authorities of Burma/Myanmar to take clear steps towards political reforms and to open a dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minorities.

The FAC discussed possibilities to resume negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme among Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany. Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas stressed that Iran’s nuclear programme was a concern for the whole EU, and the maximum effort had to be made to solve it. Lithuania agrees that negotiations on nuclear programme should be resumed.

On the same day at the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Brussels, the EU foreign ministers decided on the outline of a permanent crisis management mechanism.

Heads of the EU’s diplomacy noted that there was a need to make every effort to agree on the EU budget for next year by the end of 2010. Foreign ministers stated that discussions at the European Council in December should not affect the process and course of future negotiations on a new multiannual financial framework.

On the eve of the FAC and GAC, the traditional Baltic and Benelux foreign ministers’ meeting took place in Brussels, it focused on the EU-Russia relations, the upcoming OSCE Summit, Lithuanian chairmanship of the OSCE and the EU enlargement.