Brussels, 17/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The meeting of the EU's foreign affairs ministers taking place in Luxembourg on Monday 20 June will be largely dedicated to the plan to step up the EU's strategy in the Sahel, especially through strengthening the regional dimension of common security and defence policy (CSDP) missions.
This formal Council meeting will begin with a discussion on the joint communication of the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) on the EU's integrated policy for the Arctic, which was presented in April (see EUROPE 11541). The Council is expected to adopt conclusions on this.
The Council will then hold a debate on the EU's overall approach to security and development in the Sahel region (see EUROPE 11338 and 11435) following a ministerial meeting in Brussels between High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the G5 Sahel foreign ministers. As part of this debate, the Council is expected to discuss the possibility of stepping up political dialogue and cooperation. It will also be a question of greater commitment from the EU on security and migration, possibly through strengthening the regional dimension of the ongoing CSDP missions (see Europe Diplomacy & Defence of 5 May, EDD 887). The Council is furthermore expected to prolong and extend the mandate of the EU's naval operation in the Mediterranean (see other article).
Over lunch, the ministers are expected to discuss the Middle East peace process, with a ministerial conference being held on this in Paris on 3 June and the Quartet being soon due to publish its report with recommendations for supporting a two-state solution. European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn is also expected to tell the Council about his visit to Israel and Palestine on 13-14 June. Conclusions could be adopted.
At the request of several member states, the ministers will also discuss two subjects that they do not normally deal with: visa liberalisation in the context of EU-Georgia relations and the political crisis in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). According to several diplomatic sources, the fact that a Council discussion is being organised on FYROM is expected to serve as political pressure, a sort of call to order for the country's political leaders.
The Council will be followed by an EU-Montenegro Association Council. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)