News

On 28–29 July, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sigitas Mitkus, met with Romanian politicians and diplomats in Bucharest to discuss Lithuania’s preparations for its Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2027, strengthening European security, support for Ukraine, EU enlargement, development cooperation issues, and the prospects for bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and Romania.

During the visit, Mitkus met with Clara Staicu, State Secretary for European Affairs at the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the State Secretary for Interinstitutional Relations, Development Cooperation, and Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Clara-Alexandra Volintiru; Advisor to the President of Romania on European Affairs, Valentin Naumescu; and Titus Corlățean, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Romanian Senate.

The meetings focused primarily on the priorities of Lithuania’s Presidency of the Council of the EU: strengthening European security and defense, ensuring support for Ukraine, advancing EU enlargement, boosting competitiveness, and preparing for the new EU multiannual financial framework for 2028–2034.

“As it prepares to assume the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Lithuania aims to contribute to building a safer, more competitive, and more resilient Europe. Only by working closely together will we be able to strengthen Europe’s ability to respond to geopolitical challenges, ensure strong support for Ukraine, and bolster the Union’s resilience,” said the Vice-Minister Mitkus.

While discussing the priorities of the EU’s future multiannual financial framework, the Vice-Minister emphasised that the EU budget must address new geopolitical challenges and ensure sufficient funding for security and defence, competitiveness, and support for Ukraine, while maintaining strong priorities for Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy.

Discussions on EU enlargement highlighted the need to maintain the momentum of the enlargement process.

“We must move forward immediately in the enlargement process—not only by opening the remaining negotiation clusters with Ukraine and Moldova, but also by setting a date for EU membership for Ukraine and other candidate countries,” noted Mitkus.

Discussions with Romanian State Secretary Clara-Alexandra Volintiru focused on the directions of Lithuanian and Romanian development cooperation policies, support for Ukraine, and opportunities to strengthen cooperation in implementing Ukraine’s reconstruction projects.

The meetings also highlighted the importance of close cooperation between Lithuania and Romania in strengthening European security, combating hybrid threats and disinformation, increasing the resilience of democratic institutions, and preserving Europe’s historical memory.

Discussing bilateral relations between Lithuania and Romania, the Vice-Minister emphasized the potential for expanding cooperation in the fields of defense, innovation, information technology, transportation, and energy, as well as for fostering more active business and institutional ties.

In an interview on the television program “The Diplomatic World,” the Vice-Minister presented Lithuania’s foreign policy priorities, its preparations for the Presidency of the Council of the EU, Lithuania’s position on strengthening European security, support for Ukraine, the EU enlargement, and discussed the prospects for cooperation between Lithuania and Romania.