Defence Policy Director of the Ministry of National Defence Vaidotas Urbelis with other representatives of the Ministry of National Defence met with a delegation of the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Union Military Staff (EUMS) delegation on a visit in Lithuania earlier this week. The delegation assessed the role of Lithuania in the EU Security and Defence Policy.
“Europe wants a bigger role in security and defence and gradually increases its focus on it, Lithuania is a part of this process. The active Lithuanian participation in the EU cooperation formats does not go unnoticed,” said V. Urbelis.
At the meeting, the guests presented conclusions concerning Lithuania’s significant contribution in strengthening the EU military capabilities and the development of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The EU representatives stated that the ongoing Lithuanian Armed Forces modernization enables a meaningful contribution to EU capabilities thus strengthening the European Common Security and Defence Policy.
According to V. Urbelis, Lithuania follows the principle of a single set of forces, i.e., contributes the same forces to both, NATO and the EU, therefore it is necessary that defence planning processes of both organisations are compatible and supplementary.
Photo credits: MoD/A. Pliadis
