News

On 22 February in Brussels, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Egidijus Meilūnas took part in the informal meeting of the European Union’s ministers for development cooperation, which was dedicated to security and development in unstable and conflict regions.

The ministers discussed situation in South Sudan and Sahel, the situation in the EU’s Southern neighbourhood, the developments in Egypt and Tunisia.

A ministerial discussion on the future of the EU’s development cooperation policy was also organized.

Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas stressed that in developing countries the EU should permanently promote democratization, respect for human rights, gender equality, compliance with the principles of good governance, and the strengthening of civil society participation in state governance processes. 

According to the Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister, the EU should continue to play an important role in the Neighbourhood policy, which aims to strengthen neighbourly relations and to ensure prosperity in neighbouring countries.

Vice-Minister E.Meilūnas emphasized that currently the efficiency and results of the use of development aid received insufficient attention.

The Vice-Minister supported the European Commission’s proposal to focus on four areas in the EU activities - agriculture, energy, infrastructure and food security - because only in this way the EU could achieve greater visibility of its actions and to create added value. The Vice-Minister stressed the responsibility of developing countries themselves for their own development.

In 2004, as Lithuania became a member state of the EU, the country transformed from a recipient to a donor. In implementing the development cooperation policy, Lithuania intensifies regional and interregional cooperation, and strengthens political and economic relations with other countries. With regard to development cooperation issues, Lithuania firstly cooperates with its neighbouring countries in the East.