“The experience of the Nordic and Baltic countries and their support are necessary for Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other Eastern Partnership countries today. The Baltic states have gone a long way toward regaining their independence and implementing reforms, so they have a very good understanding of the current situation and are ready to share their experience both with the Eastern Partnership countries and with donor countries,” said Linkevičius.
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister reviewed cooperation with the Eastern Partnership countries and called on completing the ratification process of the Association Agreement with Ukraine as soon as possible and on providing visa-free regimes for Ukraine and Georgia. “We must continue the ambitious Eastern Partnership policy,” said the head of Lithuania’s diplomacy.
The NB8 Prime Ministers’ meeting focused on key regional cooperation issues, cooperation in the fields of energy and transport, the region’s security situation, the implementation of decisions of NATO’s Summit in Warsaw, the EU agenda, relations with Russia, the situation in Ukraine, the Eastern Partnership initiative, the situation in Syria, and the fight against terrorism.
“The security situation in the region today, just as 25 years ago, is largely determined by Russia’s aggressive policy and actions. The entire region is facing this common challenge. We must be focused and united, because only this way we can ensure security in our region and defend our values. The Nordic-Baltic cooperation forum can be very useful when combining the cooperation of NATO and the EU,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Minister.
As regards the main challenges facing the European Union, Linkevičius noted that there was a shared interest in maintaining a strong relationship with the United Kingdom. Lithuania’s Foreign Minister also urged to continue holding the meetings of the NB8 and British Prime Ministers.
In a meeting, Linkevičius raised the issue of nuclear safety. “Planned nuclear power projects in the region must be implemented in compliance with international nuclear safety standards. Three serious incidents took place in the Astravets nuclear power plant in Belarus in less than five months and we have learned about them not from Belarus, but from public or other sources. The unsafe Belarusian NPP is not only Lithuania’s problem. It is also a problem for the whole region,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Minister.
In the annual NB8 Prime Ministers’ meetings, representatives of the Baltic and Nordic countries openly discuss and coordinate their actions, and seek to address common challenges. In 2016, the NB8 cooperation is coordinated by Latvia. Next year, the Nordic-Baltic cooperation will be coordinated by Norway.
