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The letter addressed to the European Commission was signed by Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, together with colleagues from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and Hungary.
The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry claims that the letter was initiated by him.
“We believe that our borders will not be secure unless we extend our support to our immediate neighbors. Our eastern partners have repeatedly thanked the EU for its help with COVID-19 and have called for easier access to the vaccine,” the statement was copied. letter to BNS.
The ministers affirm that the countries participating in the Eastern Partnership should receive the same assistance that was promised to the Western Balkans.
“We strongly support the efforts of Member States and the European Commission to share vaccines ordered under reserve agreements with the EU’s immediate neighbors, such as the Western Balkan countries,” the letter says.
“At the same time, we are convinced that the EU must take more than the current initiative and give the same attention and support to the other neighbors of the EU, the countries of the Eastern Partnership of the EU, if they wish,” they said. The ministers.
According to them, the joint initiative of the “European Team” focused on the most effective mechanism in this regard, and the ongoing consultations on the exchange of vaccines “have led to promising steps towards partners in the Western Balkans”.
“We call on the Commission to quickly develop a similar support mechanism that it already has in the Western Balkans.” As the Eastern Partnership Summit (scheduled for the first half of 2021) approaches, we must send a strong and coordinated message about the strategic value of the Eastern Partnership. Facilitating the exchange and assistance of vaccines to our eastern partners would be an important element of this knowledge, ”said the ministers.
“We are confident that our efforts will be welcomed by the governments and civil society of the EU Eastern Partnership countries, and will increase the visibility of the geopolitical efforts of the Commission and the EU as a whole,” they said.
Moldova, Sacartwell and Ukraine are the most active participants in the Eastern Partnership. The program also includes Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.
The European Union has so far approved two vaccines against the coronavirus. The community began vaccinating BionTech and Pfizer last month, and a Moderna vaccine was approved on Wednesday.
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