On 27 November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Rolandas Kriščiūnas presented the EU’s role in addressing security challenges in Africa and responded to questions raised for the Council by delegates of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.
R.Kriščiūnas reviewed the implementation of the EU’s Strategy for the Sahel region, support to the reconstruction of Somalia and stabilisation of the situation in the Central African Republic as well as a peace effort in the Great Lakes and Central Africa region.
The Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister highlighted the EU’s evolving relations with the Caribbean region and stressed that the traditional cooperation between the donor and the beneficiary had transformed into political cooperation based on mutual interests. The EU will continue to help the Pacific Basin countries to strengthen their resilience to natural disasters and to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources.
R.Kriščiūnas assured parliamentarians that Lithuania’s Presidency of the EU Council was making every effort to achieve consensus on the Financial Regulation applicable to the 11th European Development Fund for 2014-2020. The Lithuanian representative welcomed the Council’s decision regarding transitional EDF management measures from 1 January 2014 until the entry into force of the 11th European Development Fund.
The Vice-Minister also underlined that Lithuania’s experience of institutional, economic and social development accumulated after the re-establishment of independence as well as similar experiences of other EU member states could be also useful for the African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries that are implementing reforms.
“Lithuania is ready to share its experience with every country, every civil society, which pursues reforms,” R.Kriščiūnas said.
At the session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Lithuanian Foreign Vice-Minister substituted for the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton.
