You're reading: Linkevicius: Little time left, but success at Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius can be achieved

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius has said that there is little time left ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius, but success can still be achieved.

He said this in Brussels on Friday while presenting the priorities of
Lithuania’s presidency of the EU and speaking about the upcoming
summit. Lithuania takes over the presidency of the EU Council on July 1
this year and will host the Eastern Partnership summit in November.

Linkevicius said that expectations of the event should be well grounded.

“If you overstate expectations and don’t achieve them, then there
will be disappointment. Neither we nor our partners deserve it,” he
said.

Speaking about what he personally considers the upcoming success of
the summit, Linkevicius named, first and foremost, the presence of the
heads and leaders of states.

“Their absence will not be success. Their presence will be a signal
that we’re here, that we are discussing [cooperation with our partners] and that we will do it on a permanent basis,” he said.

Linkevicius said he was confident that the summit “should also give an answer to the Eastern Partnership strategy.”

“It will also be a success. The summit is not the end of the game,
but just its beginning, the beginning of a long and difficult path,” he
said.

In addition, he said he was confident that the “more for more” principle should be realized.

“If they [the partner countries] do more, then it will be necessary
to establish the mechanism for how to give more. We have to be ready to
do it, and they should know about it. This is also part of the strategy,
and, in my opinion, it is a success,” Linkevicius said.

He said that “the signing of the Association Agreement with Ukraine will be an additional success.”

“There remains little time, but it’s possible, and we all know what needs to be done,” Linkevicius said.

He also noted that the EU had already completed negotiations on an association agreement with Moldova.

“Georgia and Armenia can do the same, and we will be able to initial
these agreements. This will also be part of the success,” Linkevicius
said, adding: “This is achievable, and it can be done.”

The minister also said that “time is not on our side.”