Analytics, Economic History, Economics, Lithuania

Vygaudas Usackas

On Thursday, Lithuanian Minister for Foreign Affaires Vygaudas Usackas noted that at a summit of the EU and Eastern Europe held in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, which launched the Eastern Partnership Initiative together with six former Soviet countries. The six eastern countries participating in the Eastern Partnership program are Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. "The new cooperation initiative is a strategic step necessary for ensuring that the EU and Eastern Europe countries enter into closer relations more rapidly, strengthening economic integration, establishing stability and security in the region," Usackas said. The minister noted that the new cooperation format was especially important in the face of the difficult economic situation.

"We can meet the challenges of the financial crisis and economic recession only by joint efforts," Usackas highlighted. According to the minister, it is vital to comply with the principle of openness, thus, the creation of free trade areas and liberalization of visa regime would efficiently contribute to closer relations and more people-to-people opportunities. At the summit in Prague, the leaders of the EU and the said Eastern neighborhood countries signed the joint declaration and discussed challenges and possibilities of economic cooperation.