After Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaitė presented EU Council presidency priorities at the European Parliament on Wednesday morning, Barroso also noted he expected a lot from the Eastern Partnership summit scheduled to take place in Vilnius in November.
"The Eastern Partnership summit in November is the right moment to show how important this partnership is and how we can deepen it further," the EC president said.
In his words, "Lithuania's geographical location and history give it a privileged position to strengthen these bones and I look forward to cooperating with you on this."
Barroso said the necessary reforms in the country should go together with the opportunities of deeper EU integration.
"Like you, president, I strongly believe that we have a responsibility to do whatever is necessary to bring these countries to our part of Europe, closer to the European Union, provided these countries are carrying out the necessary political and economic reforms, we should offer them closer economic integration and political association. I hope the Vilnius summit will confirm this very important strategic orientation," he said.
The EU Eastern Partnership summit will take place in Vilnius in the end of November. It is expected to approve closer EU ties with Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and Armenia. The Eastern Partnership program also includes Azerbaijan and Belarus.
