The meeting was also attended by the leaders of Belgium, Poland, and Croatia. The preparatory session is aimed at preparing for the European Council meeting in Brussels on 23–24 March. The main subjects of today’s meeting included support for Ukraine, improving the EU’s competitiveness, and strengthening the internal market.
At the preparatory session, Gitanas Nausėda stressed the importance of maintaining the EU’s focus on Ukraine, keeping up the pace and scope of support for Ukraine, and continuing to increase pressure on the aggressor Russia. The President underlined that the discussions on sanctions had to be continued and negotiations on an 11th package of sanctions against the aggressor launched in the near future. Gitanas Nausėda welcomed the agreement reached yesterday in Brussels on the EU’s joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine. According to the Lithuanian leader, this will help to effectively assist Ukraine on the battlefield.
President Gitanas Nausėda pointed out that the situation in Moldova, which needed support to strengthen its security, economy, and supply of energy resources, also required attention. The President stressed the need to actively support Moldova’s Euro-integration aspirations and to help it on its reform path.
On economy, the Lithuanian leader underlined that in order to boost the EU’s competitiveness, the European single market had to be strengthened, the administrative burden on business reduced, and the potential of the services sector fully tapped. Gitanas Nausėda also noted that it was necessary to expand trade with third countries, to increase access to finance, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, and to put special emphasis on workforce training.
