Foreign Affairs Ministers of the European People’s Party - co-chaired by Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Simon COVENEY TD and EPP Vice President and Chairman of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, David McALLISTER- met this morning to prepare and discuss the agenda of today’s Foreign Affairs Council.   EPP Ministers discussed the Russian aggression against Ukraine and agreed to support the launch of the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) which should start its training activities before winter. Furthermore, ministers agreed to move forward in a united and comprehensive manner on the protection of critical infrastructure, on reconstruction, on energy as well as anything that needs to be done to stop Russia using food and energy as a geopolitical weapon. As regards the Western Balkan region, EPP ministers reiterated their unwavering support for a swift EU integration of the entire region, the need for urgent political and socio-economic reforms as well as clear commitment as regards CFSP alignment. Looking ahead to the December 6 EU-Western Balkan Summit and the December European Council, ministers underlined the importance of finally granting Kosovo visa liberalization and moving ahead with the candidate status of Bosnia and Herzegovina, using the new momentum for enlargement. Last but not least, ministers also discussed the geostrategic hotspot region of the Great Lakes in Africa, and the urgency not to turn our eyes from the worrying developments in Iran. They also prepared themselves for a discussion with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko’s complicity in Russia’s war against Ukraine.


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For more information contact:

 

Alexandra Henman

Deputy Spokesperson

+32 471 90 76 84

alh@epp.eu

 

Angelos Athanasopoulos

National and Regional Press Director

+32 471 90 76 35

aa@epp.eu