The meeting also covered the security situation in the region and the newly emerging threats and challenges. The President thanked Spain for its contribution to strengthening security in the Baltic region and participating in NATO’s enhanced forward presence and Baltic Air Policing mission.
“We place and will continue to place special focus on regional security. The deteriorating human rights and freedoms situation in Russia and its increasingly aggressive posture, such as the build-up of military force on the border with Ukraine, are not a positive signal, so Lithuania will seek additional EU sanctions against Russia if the situation does not change,” the President said.
Among the other issues addressed at the meeting were EU decisions on combating the pandemic and measures for economic recovery. The President called for close collaboration of all member states as they worked to eliminate disruptions in vaccine supply chains and expressed his support to the redistribution of unused vaccines among EU countries on a pro rata basis. Gitanas Nausėda spoke in favor of introducing a green certificate if it covered the identification of immunity against COVID-19 and was based on the EMA-authorized vaccines.
Speaking about economic cooperation, the President underlined that European countries should focus their efforts on rapid and effective recovery from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic as well as on the development of innovation, green economy and digital transformation.
The President invited Spanish and Lithuanian businesses to actively engage in the search for cooperation opportunities to implement joint projects with high added value.