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“We are showing by example that greater coordination is possible and necessary. If we reach the crisis separately, in the national sense with decisions by a single person, we should at least come out in a coordinated manner,” the Minister of Relations said on Monday. Lithuanian foreign Linas Linkevičius at a press conference.
“If the second wave comes, God forbid, we are constantly talking about it to be better prepared,” added Linkevičius.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevičius said that after the first wave, it became clear that more coordination was needed, especially when making decisions about borders and the transport of citizens.
“Now we realize that more coordination was needed, especially when it comes to border closings, repatriation, citizens stuck in Europe and beyond are what we really want to avoid if the second wave comes,” said Rinkevičius.
He also noted that although the situation in Europe seems more or less under control, it is important not to rush to open borders and that these decisions must be made on the basis of strictly epidemiological and not political criteria.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said the main lesson learned from COVID-19 was that “speed is the key.”
“A month ago, the epicenter of the coronavirus was in Europe, that has changed, but we must be very careful when resuming the movement of Schengen people, and we must always be prepared for a negative scenario,” said Reinsalu.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said the statistics for COVID-19 cases in Poland and the Baltic states were “much better than in other European countries, and this shows that our governments have been effective and have made the right decisions” .
Minister Czaputowicz also emphasized the importance of cooperation and said that “none of the countries is capable of defeating the virus alone.”
The foreign ministers of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland, who met in Vilnius on Monday, coordinated actions to reduce the restrictions imposed on COVID-19. Subsequently, the ministers will participate in a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council from a distance, focusing on transatlantic relations and strategic dialogue with the United States.
The Baltic countries resumed free movement between the countries in mid-May, and Poland joined them last Friday. The countries have established common morbidity criteria for COVID-19, which are used to decide the entry of foreigners from other countries.
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