Bilaterale onderhandelingen Litouwen met Oekraïne houdt deur met EU open (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Litouws voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2013 i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 28 november 2013.

In his meeting earlier today with Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov, who has come to Vilnius to participate in the EU Eastern Partnership Forum, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius welcomed the close bilateral Lithuanian-Ukrainian cooperation, which was entrenched as a strategic partnership back in 2008, and also brought up the issues of trade and economic cooperation, as well as energy and transport.

The Lithuanian Head of Government has expressed his regret at Ukraine’s decision to refrain from signing the Ukrainian Association Agreement and Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, while noting that the European Union is ready to resume the preparations for signature of these agreements.

According to the Prime Minister, we can be proud about the upcoming initialling of the EU-Ukraine Common Aviation Area Agreement.

Among other items discussed at the meeting, was energy independence. The Prime Minister congratulated Ukraine on its future Presidency of the Energy Community, which aims to achieve a common European energy space. The Prime Minister also touched upon possibilities to increase the performance of the container train Viking linking the Black Sea and Baltic regions through the transport corridor.