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Thursday, 25.04.2024, 23:32
Group of Friends of Ukraine met in Brussels
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| At the meeting of the Group of Friends of Ukraine in Brussels, 18.07.2011. Photo: urm.lt |
The Group of Friends of Ukraine aims at helping Ukraine to pursue the path of European integration successfully. The meeting was attended by more than ten EU foreign ministers and vice-ministers, who took great interest in helping Ukraine to successfully integrate into the EU.
A.Ažubalis noted that as Ukraine aimed to complete the negotiations on an Association Agreement with the EU, an integral part of which would be a free trade agreement, support and consultations of EU member states were of particular importance.
“Currently, the ongoing talks between the EU and Ukraine should be further advanced in good spirit. However, we should not have to compromise the scope of a free trade agreement. This agreement should be the first free trade agreement in the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood and ensure the most ambitious free-trade regime possible,” A.Ažubalis noted.
The meetings of the Group of Friends of Ukraine were the last opportunity for Ukraine to take informal advice of the EU member states before the end of negotiations with the EU on the Association Agreement and Free Trade Agreement.
“I think that the next meeting of the Group of Friends of Ukraine could be organized even this year,” head of the Lithuanian diplomacy said concluding the debate.
Lithuania has consistently supported Ukraine’s European integration aspirations. 2003 saw the establishment of a bilateral commission for the sharing of Lithuania’s experience of European integration with Ukraine. So far, the commission has held six meetings and the seventh is due on 5 September in Klaipėda.
On 30 June, the second meeting of the Council of Lithuanian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministries took place in Vilnius. The Council discusses issues that are related to Ukraine’s integration into the EU, participation in the EU’s Eastern Partnership initiative, the Lithuanian-Ukrainian cooperation in energy and transport sectors and within international organizations. The first meeting of the new Lithuanian-Ukrainian cooperation framework was held a year ago.
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