The President attended a meeting of the Friends of Cohesion group

On Thursday, ahead of the European Council summit, President Gitanas Nausėda attended a meeting of the Friends of Cohesion group.

During the discussion, the President emphasized that Lithuania consistently advocates for a larger EU multiannual financial framework that would enable the European Union to respond effectively to global challenges and threats.

In this context, he stressed that the EU budget should reflect new priorities, such as security and defense, competitiveness, and support for Ukraine, while at the same time preserving funding for the EU's traditional policies, above all Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy.

"New EU priorities must not be financed at the expense of traditional policies, especially Cohesion Policy and Common Agricultural Policy. Cohesion Policy has made a significant contribution to the development of Lithuania's economy, which has now reached 90 percent of the EU average," the President said.

He noted that Cohesion Policy is one of the European Union's most successful instruments for promoting economic convergence and should therefore be maintained in the next multiannual financial framework.

In addition to Lithuania, the Friends of Cohesion group comprises Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary.