Like the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, the Austrian Presidency, which took over the reins on 1 July, is making the Western Balkans a strategic priority.
Speaking to the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, Austria's Foreign Affairs Minister Karin Kneissl highlighted "stability in our neighbourhood with a stronger rapprochement of the countries of South East Europe". She refused to use the term 'Western Balkans', preferring 'South East Europe'.
According to Kneissl, it is important to strengthen stability and security in the direct neighbourhood by strengthening the outlook of the Western Balkans' accession to the European Union. "South East Europe presents a risk – that of falling into a limbo from which others could take advantage", she warned. She announced that Austria wanted to work with the region on specific issues, including bilateral territorial differences.
Another priority is the relationship between the EU and Asia. "We want to strengthen our relationship with Asia. This would be an essential element for more comprehensive and deeper relations between our two continents", she said. The summit between the EU and Asian countries in October will be thus be one of the "key moments of the (Austrian) Presidency".
Importance of multilateralism. The minister also underlined the importance of effective multilateralism. She spoke about the agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme, saying this was not only a question of losing an agreement on disarmament but also of the international community losing "credibility". "Credibility can't be bought – it is merited", she said.
Kneissl also mentioned the situation in Yemen and Palestine, saying that Austria "would do its best to support the diplomatic efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation." She furthermore reiterated that her country would host the negotiations for the post-Cotonou agreement and that a new EU-CELAC strategy would be developed in the second half of 2018.
On migration, the great priority of the Austrian Presidency, Kneissl said it was necessary to strengthen coordination with third countries, to facilitate the policy of returning migrants who do not benefit from asylum in the EU.
She said she thought there was a lack of "real geopolitical reflection", stating that the Europeans were sometimes too troubled by the day-to-day problems and details and did not keep the general context in mind.
Ministerial absenteeism. Kneissl complained at the fact her counterparts were attending fewer and fewer Foreign Affairs Councils – a situation that complicates decision-making.
"For some of my colleagues, it is a while since I have seen them. This is a problem when we want to take high-level political decisions", she said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)