On November 19 Chief of Defence of Lithuania Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupšys left for Brussels, Belgium, to take part in the EU Military Committee Conference (EUMC) in the coming days.
European Chiefs of Defence will gather at the headquarters of the Council of the European Union to discuss EU cooperation with NATO, military operations in the Western Balkans and off the coasts of Somalia and Libya, training missions, and military capability building presided over by Chairman of the Committee General Claudio Graziano.
Lithuania is contributing to four of the six ongoing EU military operations. In the beginning of 2019 Lithuania's contribution to the EU operations constituted one fourth of the total of Lithuanian contribution to international operations.
During his visit to Brussels Lt Gen Valdemaras Rupšys will attend commemorative events of Lithuanian Armed Forces Day ,meet with Ambassador of Lithuania to the European Union HE Jovita Neliupšienė, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to NATO HE Vytautas Leškevičius, and Military Representative of Lithuania to NATO and the EU Brigadier General Modestas Petrauskas.
The EU Military Committee is the highest military institution of the European Union made up of the Chiefs of Defence of the EU member countries. The Committee leads military actions of the EU, primarily, planning and conduct of military mission and operations of the Common Security and Defence Policy and development of military capabilities, and rendering military advice to the EU Political and Security Committee in charge of common Foreign and Security Policy of the Union. The NATO Chiefs of Defence convene for the EUMC meetings twice a year.
Spokesperson for the Chief of Defence Maj Tomas Balkus
+370 (5) 278 5091, +370 682 25359, tomas.balkus@mil.lt
Photo credit: Sgt Spc Ieva Budzeikaitė
