"Fighting smuggling, the protection of the EU's external borders, the "Smart Borders" package – all these issues will receive special attention," Leškevičius told BNS after a meeting with the European Parliament's Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee in Strasbourg. "Not all EU member states have those external borders but for Lithuania, having one of the longest external EU borders, it's an issue of particular importance," he added.
In his words, "significant progress in non-finalization of what is called the "Smart Borders" package" will be expected from the Lithuanian presidency.
"As well as the establishment of an arrival-departure system, the Registered Traveller Programme – all these are among key priorities of the Lithuanian presidency but at the same time they are also pan-European priorities. We agreed on that with the committee chairman.
Asked about possible obstacles Lithuania may face, Leškevičius said he would rather talk about actions and not obstacles. The latter, he believes, don't depend on Lithuania and involve the end of the European Parliament legislative cycle and the forthcoming general elections in Germany.
The "Smart Borders" project is related to the registration of citizens of third countries who are crossing EU borders. The implementation of this project would facilitate border-crossing for citizens from non-EU countries.
