EXPERIENCE OF THE CZECH PRESIDENCY OF EU COUNCIL IS IMPORTANT TO LITHUANIA
President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Miroslava Němcová, who is currently visiting Lithuania. The meeting focused on bilateral relations, international cooperation, and Lithuania's upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Having joined the European Union together with Lithuania in 2004, the Czech Republic has been one of the first new member states to preside over the EU Council. The experience and support of this country, the President noted, will be valuable to our state as it is taking over the helm of the presidency from Ireland on 1 July.
The President has pointed out that presidency of the EU Council is a great responsibility to our state. During the next half of the year, Lithuania will have not only to coordinate separate programmes of the EU's multiannual financial framework for the period 2014-2020, but also to look for new tools to deal with the consequences of the economic crisis and reduce high youth unemployment rate. She underlined that our country would have a responsible and difficult task to coordinate the interests of all 27 member states (28 after Croatia joins the EU) on the matters crucial for the entire continent.
Among the other issues discussed at the meeting were the priorities of the presidency as well as economic and cultural cooperation between Lithuania and the Czech Republic. According to the President, Lithuania and the Czech Republic have much similar historical and cultural experience, therefore an intensive dialogue of the two countries should further continue.
