Foreign Ministry Political Director discusses current international politics at e-PINE consultations in Vilnius [02 Oct 2008]

On 2 October 2008, the Enhanced Partnership in Northern Europe (e-PINE) consultations open in Vilnius, Lithuania, in which the Latvian delegation is being headed by the Foreign Ministry's Political Director Peteris Ustubs.

The agenda of the e-PINE consultations includes current international issues and the situation in the EU neighbouring region, particularly in Georgia, and the developments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Participating in the consultations are the political directors from Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and the U.S.A.

The e-PINE initiative was launched in 2003 as a continuation of the U.S.-Baltic Partnership Charter on a wider scale, so as to maintain and reinforce the co-operation between the United States, the Baltic states and the Nordic region. The main areas of co-operation are security policy, neighbourhood policy and vibrant economies. The co-operation takes place in the form of regular consultations of political directors 8+1 (the Baltic States, Nordic countries and the U.S.), in which the officials of the participating countries exchange opinions on current issues of international relevance.

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