Ministers discussed Ukraine, with a focus on the country's reform process, and shared their views on how the EU could best support the reforms, giving the process a new momentum.
Linkevičius stressed that it was important to help Ukraine implement the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) part of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which provisionally entered into force on 1 January 2016 and to look for ways to help the country after Russia's food embargo against Ukraine and its ban on transit of Ukrainian goods through Russia's territory.
Lithuania's Foreign Minister offered tools to improve the EU's visibility and engagement in Ukraine, saying that "the EU should increase its engagement and visibility in Ukrainian regions – we suggest that the EU countries and other donors should choose spheres, where they have gained a lot of experience and valuable knowledge. Aid should be allocated not only to the capital city, but also to the regions of their choice. Moreover, efforts must be well coordinated and the aid should be systematically allocated."
Lithuania's Foreign Minister also drew attention to the fact that while carrying out its judicial reform, Ukraine was implementing the newly adopted laws, so it was necessary to strengthen the EU Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform Ukraine (EUAM).
