THE FOREIGN MINISTER: SUCCESS OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP DEPENDS ON THE INVOLVEMENT OF CITIZENS
On 27 November, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius at the opening of Eastern Partnership Civil Society conference stressed that Lithuania consistently and actively supported the countries participating in the Eastern Partnership program so that they would reach their goals in Vilnius.
"Eastern Partnership offers the opportunity to get closer to the EU. It is a set of standards and way of life. First of all, it opens up opportunities for people: freedom to travel, trade, study, be certain regarding their rights and strength of the state", said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius congratulating more than 300 participants from the European Union and Eastern Partnership countries.
According to the Minister, this event is important not only because the Eastern Partnership is one of the priorities of Lithuania's Presidency but also due to the fact that this is the year of EU citizens. Getting closer to the EU for the Eastern European countries means choice of direction of their state so society‘s involvement is principal.
“EU Eastern Partnership Summit is not only for signing of the agreements to bring the partners to free trade and visa-free regime with the EU as most important is to agree on the future of this program and continuity of reforms, stressed L. Linkevičius.
Participants of the Conference "Eastern Partnership Estimates: Policy Challenges and the Future Agenda for Civil Society" will mainly focus on the future of the Eastern Partnership, will evaluate the progress of this EU initiative over four years. The civil society leaders from EU member states and the Eastern partner countries, members of non-governmental organizations, research centres, and prominent political and public figures will discuss the role of civil societies in the countries of Eastern Partnership, which are the engines of major internal reforms in these countries.
With this two-day conference the Eastern Partnership marathon of events started in Vilnius. Tomorrow, the 3rd EU Eastern Partnership Summit will be opened as well as Eastern Partnership Business Forum where promotion of business relations between the EU and its Eastern partners will be discussed. Today and tomorrow, the Parliament hosts the conference "Parliaments for Democracy: Towards a More Ambitious Global Cooperation." In total Eastern Partnership events will be attended by about 1.5 thousand of participants and journalists.
