News

On 17 July, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, Sigitas Mitkus, paid a working visit to the Netherlands, where he met with Heleen Bakker, Director-General for European Cooperation at the Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meeting, Mitkus emphasized the close bilateral relations between Lithuania and the Netherlands, the need to continue providing comprehensive support for Ukraine, and the importance of Ukraine becoming a member of the European Union for the security of the whole of Europe. The Vice-Minister and his Dutch colleague discussed the European Commission's proposals for the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework for 2027-2034. He stressed the need for a larger EU budget, the preservation of traditional Cohesion and Common Agricultural Policies, the fullfillement of contractual commitments, consideration of geopolitical challenges, and the application of conditionality related to the implementation of the rule of law. They also discussed opportunities for working together in implementing development cooperation projects and Lithuania's preparations and priorities for the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2027.

"Lithuania shares a special bond with the Netherlands - I welcome both our highly productive economic cooperation and  close security partnership. Today, my colleague Heleen Bakker and I discussed ways to assist Ukraine, which is suffering from Russian aggression and is bravely fighting back - its EU membership is the most important security guarantee we must pursue. We also touched on other important issues that will have a major impact on the future of Europe - the EU's next Multiannual Financial Framework and the upcoming Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Finally, we found many common points in the area of development cooperation, where we see great potential for joint projects, in particular in rebuilding Ukraine's war-damaged infrastructure".