The following news release has been republished here courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Lithuania
On 12 January, the eve of an informal Meeting of EU Ministers for European Affairs in La Granja, the Spanish province of Segovia, Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Asta Skaisgirytė Liauškienė and Diego López Garrido, the Secretary of State for the European Union of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Spanish EU Presidency discussed possibilities to strengthen the EU’s energy security.
During the meeting, the European Energy Action Plan for 2010-2014 was discussed. The plan, which is currently being drafted by Spain, will define the EU’s energy policy development guidelines for the next five years.
The Vice-Minister stressed the necessity to include as one of the priorities into this document the Baltic Energy Market Interconnection Plan, which foresees measures to ensure the energy independence of the Baltic States.
"The new Action Plan should focus on the weakest chains of the EU’s energy security and energy islands, including also the Baltic States,” Vice-Minister A.Skaisgirytė Liauškienė said.
According to Spain’s Secretary of State, the positions of Lithuania and Spain on the issues that were discussed basically coincide.
"We share this common interest, as both Lithuania and Spain are energy islands. Therefore, strengthening the EU’s energy security will receive special attention during Spain’s EU Presidency,” D. López Garrido said.
The currently under preparation Action Plan of the implementation of the Stockholm Programme for justice and home affairs, which was adopted by heads of the EU member states, was discussed at the meeting.
The Stockholm Programme lays the foundations for the cooperation of the EU police, customs and rescue services, as well as for shaping the asylum, migration and visa policy, and the cooperation within the framework of criminal and civil law in 2010-2014.
During the conversation, the Vice-Minister stressed the importance of continuity of the evaluation of crimes of totalitarian regimes on the EU level, when seeking for historical justice.
Opinions were also exchanged on the establishment of new specialised divisions of FRONTEX. The agency coordinates the operational cooperation between EU Member States in the field of border security. Vice-Minister A. Skaisgirytė Liauškienė acquainted Secretary of State D. López Garrido with plans to establish a division of this agency in Lithuania.
During the conversation, the interlocutors also took into consideration the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative and the issue of visa liberalization for Eastern European countries. The Vice-Minister stressed that Lithuania would continue to pursue visa facilitation for the citizens of these countries and, in this way, will ensure greater mobility of their citizens.
Vice-Minister A. Skaisgirytė Liauškienė invited the Spanish State Secretary to pay a visit to Lithuania.
On 12-14 January in La Granja, Lithuania’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs is participating in an informal Meeting of EU Ministers for European Affairs, during which priorities for the Spanish EU Presidency, the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon and the new EU 2020 strategy for economic and employment growth are being discussed.
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