Litouws voorzitterschap ontvangt ambassadeurs: prioriteiten zijn bankenunie en energiebeleid (en)

Thursday, July 18, Vilnius - President Dalia Grybauskaitė met with the ambassadors of EU member states to Lithuania to review the main tasks the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

"Lithuania as the presiding member state will coordinate matters of importance to the whole of Europe. Your help and assistance is much needed in this regard. Therefore, I invite you to be actively engaged in the Lithuanian Presidency process. We are open to your ideas and propositions because only through common efforts can we find more quickly the solutions necessary for all Europeans," the President told the ambassadors.

Dalia Grybauskaitė stressed that the Lithuanian Presidency would seek to ensure the financial stability and economic growth of all Europe. Among the key objectives for the Lithuanian Presidency, the President said, was to finish negotiations on Union acts which would ensure that member states gain timely access to the multiannual EU budget funds. It was also necessary to strengthen the Economic and Monetary Union and to continue working towards the establishment of the Banking Union.

The efforts of all 28 member states were needed to deliver more energy independence to Europe. The President underlined that the residents of Europe were paying too much for energy resources - which not only reduced consumer purchasing power, but was also detrimental to the competitiveness of the Old Continent. Therefore, the elimination of energy islands and the creation of the internal energy market continued to be a top priority on the European Union agenda.

According to Dalia Grybauskaitė, boosting economic growth, fighting unemployment, especially among the youth, is yet another key task of the Lithuanian Presidency. Today almost 6 million young people in Europe do not have a job. Special funds are provided in the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 to deal with this problem, but the EU institutions and national governments should nevertheless come up with instant initiatives and creative solutions.

The President and the ambassadors of EU member states to Lithuania also discussed relations with Eastern Partnership countries and preparations for the Vilnius Summit to be held this coming November.