News

On 17 June in Vilnius, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Raimundas Karoblis met with the Swedish Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde to discuss bilateral economic cooperation and important issues on the EU agenda, as well as foreign trade.

Karoblis noted that Sweden was Lithuania’s important, reliable and close partner, especially in the development of cooperation in economic, social development, energy security, regional security, defence and other fields.

Economic relations between Lithuania and Sweden are especially dynamic and intensive. Sweden is Lithuania’s eighth biggest trading partner. Sweden has been the greatest investor in Lithuania for more than a decade. Lithuania and Sweden have also enjoyed their strategic energy partnership and the NordBalt power link has been recently built.

In the meeting, Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister and the Swedish Minister for EU Affairs also discussed the challenges facing the EU, including large flows of refugees and illegal migrants. Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister stressed the importance of the external dimension of the EU’s migration policy and the protection of the EU’s external borders.

Karoblis and the Swedish Minister also discussed visa liberalization for Georgia and Ukraine. The positions of Lithuania and Sweden that the Eastern partners have implemented all the needed commitments fully coincide.

As regards the upcoming referendum on whether the UK should stay in the EU, Karoblis pointed out that the UK was a close strategic partner of Lithuania and the EU. “We respect the freedom of the British people to make their own decision and hope that on the day of the referendum they will take into account strong arguments for Britain’s EU membership,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister.

Karoblis and Linde emphasized their strong support for the EU negotiations of an ambitious, balanced and high-standard trade and investment deal with the US – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The meeting also discussed results of the EU’s negotiations on a finalised free trade agreement with Canada. Both sides spoke in favour of an immediate provisional application of the agreement in order to maximise its benefits for European enterprises. Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister stressed that the EU’s trade policy had to ensure equal competitive conditions for the EU’s industry, making full use of trade defence instruments.

The Swedish Minister for EU Affairs welcomed Lithuania’s successful accession process to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and voiced her active support for Lithuania’s membership of the organization.

Karoblis also drew the Swedish Minister’s attention to Lithuanian concerns over the construction of the Astravets nuclear power plant in Belarus, which posed safety and security threats.