News

Friday, January 18, Vilnius - President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with members of the Seimas Committee on European Affairs to discuss Lithuania's preparations for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Lithuania is the first of the three Baltic States to be taking on this responsibility, and therefore according to the President it is greatly important to ensure a smooth legislative process and to act as a proper mediator between EU member states.

"The EU presidency is a test of Lithuania's diplomatic and administrative capacities. Robust preparedness, coordination of actions and close cooperation between the Government, the President's institution and the Seimas are imperative for running the process smoothly. To set a quality presidency means to strengthen Lithuania's standing and to justify the trust of the international community in our country," the President said.

Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined that during its presidency Lithuania would have to mediate for EU member states as they negotiate the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020, the single banking supervision mechanism, and instruments to deal with the consequences of the economic crisis.

The President pointed out that Lithuania's objective was not only completing the work started before its presidency, but also placing a strong focus on issues of major importance for the entire Baltic region: the integration of the Baltic States into the EU's internal energy market, external borders control, the Baltic Sea Region Strategy, and the EU Eastern Partnership.

The Presidency events will be launched with the visit of the representatives of the European Commission to Vilnius on July 5. Among the other events on the Presidency calendar are the first-ever Central European conference of information and communication technologies with leading international IT professionals invited to take part, a summit of EU and Eastern Partnership countries, a conference on the EU internal energy market that will bring energy experts from across the European Union together in Vilnius, and many others.