As regards the developments in Turkey in the past few weeks, the Ministers expressed their concerns over democracy and human rights violations in the country, and spoke up for maintaining the dialogue with Ankara. Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister Karoblis expressed Lithuania’s position that, bearing in mind the importance of Turkey as a strategic partner and its status of a candidate country for EU membership, the EU was interested in maintaining its constructive dialogue with Turkey, particularly in such key areas as ensuring security, the fight against terrorism and illegal migration.
The Ministers discussed the Eastern Partnership and preparations for the next Eastern Partnership Summit scheduled in November 2017. The Council called for helping partners in the areas of security and stability, strengthening their resilience to external threats and disinformation, and taking the last steps for a timely finalisation of the decision making processes required for visa liberalisation for the citizens of Georgia and Ukraine. Karoblis underlined the importance of ensuring a coherent EU political and financial support for the Eastern Partnership, seeking immediate implementation of the EU commitment to the Eastern Partnership initiative. Moreover, according to Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister, it is important to start preparing for the next Eastern Partnership Summit. However, there is no need to be limited to a practical cooperation with partners – the EU must have an ambitious political vision for modelling the future of the Eastern Partnership, thus ensuring democracy, stability and prosperity in the EU’s neighbourhood.
The joint session of the Foreign Affairs Ministers and Defence Ministers, which was attended by Karoblis and Lithuania’s Vice Minister of National Defence Marijus Velička, focused on the implementation plan on security and defence under the EU global strategy. The implementation plan that will be presented for consideration and decision at the European Council in December 2016 sets out proposals to implement the EU Global Strategy in the area of security and defence. It is important for Lithuania to avoid duplication of NATO’s role, also for the EU to develop more ambitious security partnerships with countries, which contribute to the action of the European Union’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and foster values of the EU, as well as for the EU member states to increase national defence spending, because the collective EU commitment to increase national defence spending would demonstrate a concrete level of responsibility sharing with NATO, the transatlantic partners.
