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Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Antanas Valionis attended the meeting of the European Union (EU) General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) held on 22 March in Brussels, where the Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States drew major attention to discussing the EU Action Plan to combat terrorism. Antanas Valionis asserted that because of the terrorist attacks in Madrid it was necessary to strengthen and implement without delay the measures to combat international terrorism. The Chief of Lithuanian Diplomacy also underlined the need of coordination between the institutions of the EU and its Member States and supported designation of EU Coordinator on terrorism. “One of the major preconditions of the successful fight against terrorism is better cooperation and exchange of information, in particular intelligence information, both among police, security and other competent services that are dealing with terrorism in a particular country and among different member states,” the Minister stated at the meeting. During the discussion on implementation of the Lisbon strategy, Minister Valionis drew attention to the fact that the single EU market would be effective only when the transport and energy networks would be connected. But the Minister did not back the countries, which attempted to equalise the profit tax tariff. The Minister also accentuated the importance of flexible and mobile labour market to the economy of the enlarged EU. “We are for the free movement of workers in the enlarged EU, as this will encourage exchange of experience and competitiveness,” the Minister indicated. While considering the issue of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform adaptations to new Member States, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister together with the Ministers of the other new EU Member States disapproved the interim period for direct payments for milk, as such interim period was not agreed upon during the EU accession negotiations. Antanas Valionis underlined at the meeting that the new EU Member States should be granted the same level of direct payments, as it is foreseen for the current Member States. At the GAERC meeting, the EU-Russian relations were also discussed. The Chief of the Lithuanian diplomacy underscored the importance of applying the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the EU and Russia to the new EU Member States from their date of accession. The Minister also stated that the issues related to the transit of persons and goods to and from the Kaliningrad Region had been already solved. In Lithuania’s view, in response to the problems of the Kaliningrad Region raised by Russia, the EU could suggest drafting a common programme devoted to the development of this region. “The transit alone cannot solve the social and economic problems of the Kaliningrad Region,” Minister Valionis pointed out. At the GAERC session devoted the EU external relations, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs also discussed the situation in the Middle East and Kosovo.