Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas represented Greece at the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) that took place today in Luxembourg.
There was a discussion of the course of the Eastern Neighbourhood Policy, which concerns the EU’s relations with Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus, ahead of this coming November’s Summit Meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The FAC also looked at the EU’s relations with the countries of the Southern Neighbourhood, including Syria, and possible ways for the EU to contribute to the Middle East peace process in light of the new U.S. initiative for the reopening of the peace negotiations.
The meeting also included an extensive exchange of views on the course of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.
On the margins of the FAC, NATO Secretary General Rasmussen attended the working luncheon, at which there was a discussion of the new phase of the international presence in Afghanistan. In this context, the Mr. Kourkoulas underscored, among other things, the importance of more effective controls on Afghanistan’s borders in order to stop the flow of refugees and illegal migrants towards the EU.
In the discussion on the Western Balkans, Mr. Kourkoulas supported the immediate opening of accession negotiations with Serbia as a move that will contribute to stability in the region.
June 24, 2013