EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Lithuania, Security, Society

Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Linas Linkevicius. Vilnius, 26.05.2016. Photo: urm.lt

In a news conference in Vilnius, Steinmeier said the Lithuanian stance was very important, considering the fact that some politicians of other countries "stand fully aside of the joint European solution."

"Linas, I want to thank you for your contribution to the debates, which are among the most difficult ones in Europe and which we conduct and will probably continue to conduct for the next few years – I mean the migration matter," the German diplomacy chief told Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius at the news conference on Thursday.

"It is no secret in Germany or Lithuania that finding common grounds on this issue is very difficult. There are opinions that are entirely different from the common European solution. It has always been clear to me that Lithuania pursues the open policy, which is very important in this time, when the negotiations are so hard," said Steinmeier.

Lithuania's government has agreed to participate in the EU refugee relocation program and receive over 1,000 refugees from countries, such as Syria and Iraq, over two years, however, has so far objected the Brussels' proposals of future mandatory quotas.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's ruling Order and Justice party, has said that his country would not accept a single refugee because of security threats.