News

At the meeting with the Political Director of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jean-Arthur Régibeau on 5 June in Vilnius, the Political Director of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dalius Čekuolis discussed cooperation as the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union draws near, and issues related to the bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The Political Directors also discussed the EU-Russia relations, the Eastern Partnership, and situation in Syria, Iran, Central Asia and Middle East regions.

At the meeting, priorities for the Lithuanian Presidency were presented; Belgium was invited to participate at the highest political level in the 3rd Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November.

When speaking about energy security in the region, Čekuolis also emphasized compliance with nuclear safety and environment protection requirements, and solidarity in the European Union with regard to the need of a common EU policy on the nuclear safety in the EU’s neighbourhood.

The Belgian Political Director also met with the Director of the Transatlantic Cooperation and Security Policy Department Gediminas Varvuolis to discuss security policy issues.

Varvuolis presented important aspects of Lithuania’s incoming Presidency of the EU Council related to the dimension of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), and the position in the run-up to the European Council on 19 and 20 December, which is set to include a discussion on defence issues. The participants of the meeting also exchanged views on important items on the EU-NATO agenda, Afghanistan, and the Nordic-Baltic cooperation.