On Monday 17 July, the EU foreign affairs ministers said that the EU "attaches special importance to strengthening cooperation on security and defence issues with Pakistan", especially as regards counter-terrorism.
In their conclusions on Pakistan, the ministers state that the EU is "committed to working with Pakistan to combat terrorism and terrorist threats in all their forms, to step up cooperation to prevent and counter violent extremism, radicalisation and recruitment, and to address their root causes, in compliance with human rights standards". The EU underlines the importance of combating the financing of terrorist activities, and calls on Islamabad to continue to step up its efforts to ensure that its territory is not used for the preparation of terrorist activities. The EU foreign ministers' conclusions also state that during the next bilateral dialogue against terrorism, which is due to take place in October, new and more specific areas of cooperation should be discussed.
The Council discussed migration issues, saying that the readmission agreement is a priority for the EU and a key element in its overall relations with Pakistan. Islamabad should accelerate its work to facilitate the return of its migrants who are in an irregular situation, the EU ministers state, adding that the EU is ready to plan further targeted actions to help displaced Afghan people in Pakistan.
Another key element in EU-Pakistan bilateral relations is the fostering of human rights and the rule of law.
"The organisation of a third ad hoc EU-Pakistan summit will depend on the progress achieved, not least in the areas of human rights and migration, including readmission", the ministers state.
Elsewhere, the ministers note that the five-year EU-Pakistan 2012-2017 plan, which comes to an end this year, "has contributed to deepening the bilateral relations between the European Union and Pakistan" and "has also intensified institutional dialogues across priority areas including: political cooperation; security; governance, human rights; migration; trade and energy". "Further dialogues have been set up in new areas such as counter-terrorism, non-proliferation and disarmament", the Council states. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)