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Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Raimundas Karoblis, attended the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Luxembourg on 24 June 2016 that was held in preparation for the European Council (EC) to take place on 28–29 June. The main issue to be dealt with at the EC will be the UK referendum where British people voted to leave the EU.

The outcome of the UK referendum and EU’s future actions were in the focus at the GAC. Vice-Minister Karoblis noted that the referendum was yet another demonstration of a lack of Europeans’ trust in the EU and its decisions – what Europe needs now is new strong leadership to be taken on by Members. “We regret such an outcome of the referendum but respect the choice of the UK people. The UK will continue to be our important ally and partner”, the Vice-Minister said and underlined that it was important to urgently agree on a new EU and UK interaction.

In the context of the preparation for the EC, the Vice-Minister stressed the significance of cooperation between the EU and NATO in response to new challenges, particularly in fighting against hybrid threats and in resolving the migration crisis. “The next week’s debate of the European leaders, with the NATO Secretary General present there, is timely and important as never before”, he said. 

The external factors of the EU migration policy, cooperation with third countries and regions in migration matters were also discussed at the Council. Raimundas Karoblis drew the Ministers’ attention to the necessity of being watchful for new migration routes while addressing the current migration crisis, and said that using appropriate instruments and finances, the EU should not allow for its commitments in other areas and regions to be neglected.