LITHUANIA, January 5 - On 4 January evening, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė had a telephone conversation with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to discuss key issues for the beginning of the year: vaccination and efforts to curb the pandemic, the situation on the EU-Belarus border, and China’s trade restrictions on Lithuania.

The President of the European Commission welcomed Lithuania’s efforts to share vaccines with countries in need, and discussed the importance of a booster dose of the vaccine in the fight against the pandemic.

‘We have discussed with the President of the European Commission how the European Union can speed up vaccination outside the EU. We will not be safe until the EU’s neighbours and other countries whose governments have not had sufficient access to vaccines are safe,’ said Šimonytė.

Lithuania’s actions in response to the hybrid attack of the Lukashenko regime were discussed. The Prime Minister thanked the European Commission and other EU institutions for their joint work in addressing the problems caused by illegal migration, organising migrant return, and concentrating efforts to strengthen and better control the EU’s external border.

During the conversation between Ursula von del Leyen and Ingrida Šimonytė, the possible international response to China’s trade restrictions against Lithuania was also discussed.

It was agreed that the European Commission and Lithuanian officials would continue to coordinate their actions in dealing with the issues discussed.