News

On 23 October in Vilnius, an informal meeting of the EU experts on the European Neighbourhood Policy was organised at the initiative of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the event, participants exchanged their ideas on the ways to enhance the EU’s relations with its neighbours in the East of Europe and discussed the possibilities to develop the initiative of Eastern partnership.

The most topical issue on the agenda of the meeting was related to the European Neighbourhood Policy in an altered environment.

The guests discussed means of prompting the development of neighbours in the East, major obstacles inhibiting this process, and the choice of format that would be the most appropriate for initiative of Eastern partnership.

The necessary EU’s reaction to the energy sector threats and the ways to increase energy security of neighbours in the East were also discussed.

Guests of the event emphasized the significance of differentiation among the European neighbouring states and the need for an individual dialogue with each country. They also discussed possibilities of provision of European perspectives to Ukraine in the future, issues of visa facilitation and deepening the relations between the EU and Moldova.

During the meeting, Belarus was singled out as a special case in the European neighbourhood. Currently Belarus does not take part in the European Neighbourhood Policy, thus the new initiative of Eastern partnership would allow for the strengthening of cooperation between Belarus and the EU. 

Participants of the event also discussed conflict prevention and management, indicated the necessity to use all the available instruments for arranging and preventing conflicts effectively. During the meeting, they discussed a possible EU’s contribution to the effective solution of the conflict in Georgia and ways of guaranteeing smooth work of the EU Monitoring Mission to Georgia, as well as the necessary mechanisms for the solution of the Transnistrian conflict.

Representatives from the European Commission and Foreign Ministries of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom, took part in the discussion.