"The Eastern Partnership definitely needs a new impetus and enthusiasm from the European Union showing a strategic direction. This direction – at least for me – is European integration of the Eastern Partnership countries," the president told participants of a webinar on the Eastern Partnership program on Friday.
"Maybe it will not happen tomorrow, or even next year, but we and they should know that the direction is the European Union. Geopolitical changes do not happen overnight”, said the President in his welcome address and added that his predecessor President Valdas Adamkus actively contributed to the launch of this European initiative and now this initiative has reached a level of maturity and was ready for change," the Lithuanian president said.
According to the president, the Eastern Partnership program needs "an ambitious long-term strategy for deeper cooperation between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries and a specific EU action plan". For their part, the Eastern Partnership countries must show "a strong orientation towards the Western democratic values", Nauseda added.
The webinar was organized by the Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania and the Eastern Europe Studies Centre to discuss the future of the Eastern Partnership Initiative in preparation for the approaching Eastern Partnership Summit on June 18.
The webinar was attended by Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius as well as Members of the European Parliament Andrius Kubilius, Petras Austrevicius and Anna Fotyga.