Polish Prime Minister Discusses NATO, EU Enlargement in Lithuania

A delegation, headed by Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, arrived in Vilnius today for a one-day visit, which took part in a meeting of the Lithuanian-Polish governmental cooperation council. The meeting began with a tete-a-tete conversation between Jerzy Buzek and his Lithuanian counterpart, Rolandas Paksas. This is the seventh meeting of the Lithuanian-Polish governmental cooperation council, which began the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Lithuanian and Polish diplomatic relations restoration.The delegations discussed economic relations and cooperation in the area of energy, transport and defense. The two prime ministers signed a Lithuanian-Polish agreement on defense cooperation, which reflects new circumstances related to Poland's membership of NATO and its assistance to Lithuania's aspiration to join the alliance. This agreement will replace Lithuanian and Polish interministerial agreement which has been in force since 1993. In the sphere of energy, it was agreed to set up a joint venture which would draft a plan for construction for electricity bridge to the West. This line should be built by both countries by 2003.