BNS: 11 EU formins urge bloc to facilitate visa procedures to Eastern neighbours
Updated 2008-11-25
VILNIUS, Nov 25, BNS - Foreign ministers of 11 European Union (EU) member-states including Lithuania have expressed hope that the EU would shift its focus to the security policy of energy supplies, calling upon all members to be more active in the EU Neighbourhood Policy by facilitating visa issuing procedures to EU's Eastern neighbours.
The statements were made in a joint declaration signed by foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Sweden after a meeting in Warsaw on Monday, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.
According to the press release, Lithuania's acting Foreign Minister Petras Vaitiekunas and his ten colleagues discussed the EU Eastern Partnership scheme and reforms of the EU budget, the EU climate change and energy policy, as well as the agricultural policy.
Vaitiekunas accentuated during the event in the Polish capital that Lithuania would find itself in a very difficult situation following the closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in 2009. The minister noted that Lithuania expected EU's solidarity on the matter, stressing the importance of the Baltic links plan under preparation by the European Commission to guarantee energy security of the country and the region.
