The Lithuanian and British heads of diplomacy also discussed major issues of bilateral and regional cooperation, the European agenda, and cross-border security.

The Foreign Minister stressed that Lithuania's EU Presidency would mainly focus on financial stability, economic growth and job creation, as well as the openness of Europe in relations with neighbouring countries and strategic partners. Linkevičius also acquainted his counterpart with the preparation of Lithuanian authorities to run the Presidency smoothly and efficiently.

When speaking about the EU's relations with neighbouring countries, the head of the Lithuanian diplomacy emphasized the significance of the Eastern Partnership Summit, which is to be held this November in Vilnius. The Lithuanian Foreign Minister invited the UK to participate at the highest political level in this extraordinary meeting and stressed that the EU had to use this opportunity to effectively develop an ambitious Eastern Partnership policy.

The British Foreign Secretary called Lithuania's priorities remarkably ambitious and promised his country's support for their implementation. Hague emphasized that Great Britain took interest in boosting the EU's economic growth and successful negotiations on free trade with the EU's strategic partners, first of all, the United States.

The meeting also discussed the active cooperation between the UK and Nordic and Baltic countries. According to the Foreign Minister and the Foreign Secretary, Lithuania and the United Kingdom share similar approaches to many issues on the EU and NATO agendas.

Linkevičius also met with Timothy Boswell, Chairman of the European Union Committee of the UK House of Lords, and Labour's Shadow Europe Minister Emma Reynolds to discuss Lithuania's incoming EU Presidency and important issues on the EU and bilateral agendas.

Press Service of Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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