'Handelsbeperkingen Litouwse producten door Rusland probleem voor hele EU' (en)

President Dalia Grybauskaitė i, currently on a working visit to Brussels, together with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy i and European Commission President José Manuel Barosso i attended a coordination meeting to discuss major issues on the European Council agenda. Dalia Grybauskaitė briefed the EU leaders on continuing trade restrictions by Russia on the Lithuanian dairy products.

The topics of the coordination meeting included preparations for the European Council discussions, progress in implementing the digital agenda, and expectations in consolidating the Economic and Monetary Union and seeking political agreement on the establishment of the banking union. Lithuania as EU Presidency has to negotiate the implementation of the EU's multiannual budget with the European Parliament and seek consensus between the member states and EU institutions on more than 300 legal initiatives.

The President thanked the EU leaders for the support and quick reaction of the European Commission (EC) in resolving the issue of trade restrictions. The Commission has turned to the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning these restrictions. Last Friday, the issue was considered at a meeting of the WTO Council for Trade.

The President underlined that such trade restrictions, apparently politically motivated, are unlawful and contravene the principles of the WTO.

According to the President, unjustified trade barriers applied to one of the EU member states without notifying or giving official explanation, infringe the principles of equal economic cooperation between the European Union and Russia.

Lithuania closely collaborates with European institutions in this matter and expects that the common trading interests of our country and the EU will be unanimously protected by all measures available, the President noted.