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Agnija Tumkevič
policies, as well as participating and leading negotiations between the EU
and international organizations and third countries. In order to ensure the
effective implementation of these tasks, Lithuania’s President D. Grybauskaite
is committed to upholding multilingualism for the cabinet of Ministers.
Perfect knowledge of at least one of the three working EU languages and
EU agenda topics were tested by the President during one-on-one meetings
with each would-be minister during formation of the new cabinet.
Several factors will be significant in performing Lithuania’s Presidency
functions:
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Lithuania’s Presidency will take place after the political agreement
on the Multiannual Financial Perspective for 2014–2020, which
means it will inherit the adoption of the regulations implementing
the Multiannual Financial Framework. Lithuania will have to lead
the talks on many regulations and ensure the progress of their implementation.
Lithuania’s Presidency will be at the very end of the European Union
institution cycle. Taking into consideration that the European Parliament
will have elections in June 2014, more than 50 legislative
proposals of the European commission will be brought forward before
the end of term of the commission and the European Parliament.
Presiding in the busiest period of the cycle of the EU institutions,
Lithuania will have the most crowded agenda.
Lithuania’s Presidency agenda may be subordinated to the European
commission’s Work Programme for 2013. The document adopted in
October 2012 stresses the priority directions in the development of
the EU economy. Although the commission’s Work Programme has
been identified as a key pillar of Lithuania’s forthcoming Presidency, 4
Lithuania will probably have less flexibility for introducing new
non-legislative items, as the workload will be mainly defined by the
proposals introduced by the commission.
The start of Lithuania’s Presidency will coincide with the admission
of croatia as the 28th Member State of the EU. Lithuania will have to
4 The European commission’s 2013 Work Programme provides the basis for Lithuania’s Presidency
of the EU council. Report. 2012. www.eu2013.lt (Home page of Lithuanian Presidency of the
council of the European Union; date accessed 10.12.2012.).