As regards the EU's relations with its Eastern partner countries, the Ministers agreed on the need for having a tailor-made differentiated approach for each of the partner countries to cater for their very different situations. Minister Linkevičius stressed that currently the key elements of the EU's relations with Ukraine were such issues, as the entry into force of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), and the introduction of a visa-free regime. The introduction of a visa-free regime is now the one main issue facing also Georgia. "I am convinced that Georgia and Ukraine have done their homework, so we expect that the European Commission submits a report on 15 December, which will be positive and will find that all the benchmarks are achieved, so the countries will be able to move towards a visa-free regime in 2016.
As regards the situation in Moldova, Lithuania's Foreign Minister said: "In discussions with Moldovan politicians it is made clear that despite the country's fragile political situation, the formation of a pro-European government is still possible."
In Lithuania's opinion, in order to protect European values it is important to cooperate and exchange information among member states, as well as to take preventive measures and make appropriate communication efforts. Lithuania also implements all the agreed actions to strengthen EU external borders.
Over lunch, Ministers held an exchange of view with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on situations in Syria, Libya and Iraq, as well as the threat posed by Daesh. Linkevičius noted that the strategic relationship with Turkey was much deeper than cooperation in the context of the EU's enlargement and its migrant crisis.
