Agreements reached by the EU Member States at the European Council attended by the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė and Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius open up the way for the development of the Baltic Sea region and give a mandate for the European Union to participate in global negotiations in Copenhagen on responding to consequences of climate change and financing the response.

"I am happy that Lithuania's views concerning fair and objective distribution of the burden of payments have been taken into account and the European Union now goes to the Copenhagen negotiations with a unified negotiating position ," the President of Lithuania said.

According to the Head of State, EU leaders have agreed that the burden of payments to finance mitigation of consequences of climate change will be shared within the EU by having regard to the economically less capable Member States' ability to pay. The concrete mechanism of how this could be done will be determined, as requested by Lithuania, on the level of heads of states by a unanimous agreement.

The European Council has also adopted the strategy towards the Baltic Sea region which provides real possibilities for the region to stand as an example of stability and security in the European Union. Lithuania, together with Finland and Sweden, will lead the coordination of transport and agricultural projects under this strategy.
  
   
Press Service of the President