EU DEFENCE MINISTERS’ MEETING CONCENTRATED ON UKRAINE
On April 15 in Luxembourg Vice Minister of National Defence Marijus Velička took part in a meeting of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council at the level of the EU Defence Ministers where the latest developments in Ukraine were addressed. The Defence Ministers expressed every kind of support to Ukraine at the meeting.
NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also joined the discussion on the situation in Ukraine.
As it was identified by the Defence Ministers identified in their addresses, the developments in Ukraine have amplified the need to boost defence cooperation and increase defence financing in NATO. The ministers also underscored that security could not be enhanced without appropriate investment.
At the meeting Vice Minister of National Defence M. Velička announced the agreement of Lithuania’s parliamentary parties to sustainably increase national defence spending to make it reach 2% of GDP by 2020.
Vice Minister M. Velička also urged the EU states to revise their plans of selling weaponry to Russia.
The EU Defence Ministers welcomed the military operation launched by the EU in the Central African Republic on April 1 so as to restore stability of the country. In early February one Lithuanian officer was delegated to its operational headquarters in Greece.
At a meeting with Chief Executive of the European Defence Agency Claude-France Arnould the EU Defence Ministers discussed issues of defence planning and underlined that the NATO-EU defence planning had to be fully harmonized.
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton informed the Ministers on the progress achieved in drafting the European maritime security strategy. The Defence Ministers expressed a standpoint that the draft strategy should provide for the interests of all the EU member states.
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