On 20 July, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Albinas Zananavičius is participating in the General Affairs Council (Article 50) in Brussels. The Council discussed issues dealing with Brexit and how the policy paper published by the UK government on 12 July 2018 could feed into the discussions. The EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefed the ministers on the state of play in the Brexit negotiations and where the negotiations stand regarding the work to finalise the withdrawal agreement, including the backstop solution for the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. M. Barnier also presented the recent Commission communication on preparedness.