CONSULTATIONS OF LITHUANIAN AND CZECH FOREIGN MINISTRIES FOCUS ON ENERGY AND REGIONAL COOPERATION
Updated 2011-08-05
During the Lithuanian-Czech political consultations on 14 June in Prague, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Egidijus Meilūnas discussed energy security, regional and bilateral cooperation. Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas met with First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Jiří Schneider and other high-ranking officials from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Government.
Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas presented the position of the Government of Lithuania towards nuclear safety and drew the officials’ attention to the two new nuclear power projects that were planned to be implemented in Belarus and in Russia’s Kaliningrad region, emphasizing that the projects were not transparent and did not meet international safety requirements.At the meetings, the Vice-Minister also acquainted the officials with the activities of the Energy Security Centre, which was set up in Lithuania. Czech energy security specialists were invited to participate in the centre’s activities.
As the Czech Presidency of the Visegrád Group is coming, officials also discussed regional cooperation initiatives and perspectives of Visegrád-Baltic cooperation in the spheres of energy security and transport. Officials agreed to continue making joint efforts aiming at the evaluation of crimes of the totalitarian regimes at the European Union level.
On 1 July, Prague assumes the Presidency of the Visegrád Group, which comprises Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.
At the consultations, officials also discussed the possibilities for Lithuania and the Czech Republic to cooperate more actively in relations with the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries and the countries of the Western Balkan region. They exchanged opinions on other topical issues on the EU agenda.
