Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos will participate on Monday, 10 February, in the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels.
The FAC agenda includes the course of the Eastern Partnership, political developments in Ukraine, and the Union’s next steps with regard to Georgia and Moldova. The above will be discussed under the prism of EU-Russian relations and the results of the EU-Russia Summit Meeting, on which High Representative Ashton will brief the Council.
The evening session will look at the course of the Geneva II talks for the resolution of the Syrian crisis, as well as at the regional repercussions of the Syrian crisis for Lebanon and Iraq.
There will then be a discussion of Southern Neighbourhood issues, and specifically the situation in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, and Baroness Ashton will brief the FAC on the situation in the Central African Republic and preparations for the EUFOR RCA mission.
On the margins of the FAC, the Foreign Ministers of the 28 members states will participate in a working dinner with the Foreign Ministers of accession-candidate countries, at which there will be a discussion of Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood issues (Syria, Egypt, Ukraine).
On Tuesday, 11 February 2014, Mr. Venizelos will chair the EU General Affairs Council (GAC), to which he will present the Hellenic Presidency’s programme. The GAC agenda also includes preparations for the March European Council, which will focus on growth, competitiveness and jobs (European Semester, Industry Competitiveness, Climate and Energy, Single Resolution Mechanism).
Finally, there will be a discussion of the EU’s relations with Africa and of the European Commission proposal for genetically modified maize 1507 to be made available on the market, for cultivation.
February 7, 2014