Eerste ontmoeting op hoog niveau brengt EU en Commissie op 5 juli in Litouwen (en)

The first high-level meeting will be held on Friday, July 5, at the National Gallery of Art and will welcome members of the European Commission who are going to meet the President of Lithuania, the Prime Minister and members of the Government.

After the meeting with the European Commission, a bilateral meeting between President Dalia Grybauskaitė i and the President of the European Commissision José Manuel Barroso i will take place. During that time, the Lithuanian Government and members of the European Commission will have the opportunity to continue their discussions in cluster meetings.

The opening ceremony for the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union will take place in the Grand Courtyard of Vilnius University at 4 p.m. The President of the EC José Manuelis Barroso and other members of the EC, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy i, and representatives of Lithuanian culture and art, politics, and diplomats will also participate. The event marking the beginning of the Lithuanian Presidency will take place in the Presidential Courtyard from 5 p.m.

The President of the European Council H. Van Rompuy and other European Council representatives will meet Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius and representatives of the Government at Vilnius Picture Gallery (in Chodkevičiai Palace, Didžioji st. 4/Bokšto st. 5) at 6:15 p.m. The media will have the exclusive chance to capture key moments of the meeting (Tour de table - photo and video opportunity).

At 7 p.m. the President of the European Council H. Van Rompuy and Prime Minister A. Butkevičius will give statements to the press.

The official website of the Lithuanian Presidency www.eu2013.lt and LRT television will broadcast the opening ceremony live. In collaboration with Google, the event will also be shown live on YouTube, at www.youtube.com/EU2013LT.

Lithuanian public libraries are also disseminating information about the event, and inviting Lithuanians to watch the event at their local library.

The traditional Culture Night will take place in the night from July 5 to July 6. After the official opening ceremony, the Grand Courtyard of Vilnius University will open its doors to everyone to enjoy the Don’t rush home tonight concert by the Lithuanian Musicians’ Union. Apart from performers from Lithuania, the Croatian Rucner Quartet ensemble will also perform on the occasion of Croatia’s EU accession.

Media representatives must be accredited in order to report the events. During the meeting at Vilnius Pictures Gallery, the accreditation for the European Commission meeting will remain valid. To receive accreditation, please fill in the accreditation system application: https://media.eu2013.lt.

Programmes for the media on the visit of the European Commission in Lithuania and the opening event of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU are here.

More information on Culture Night events is available here.

Host broadcaster info sheet is available here.