An informal meeting that will feel a lot like a formal meeting... The foreign affairs ministers of the Member States of the European Union will be meeting in Brussels on Thursday 29 August for an informal meeting that was originally scheduled to take place in Budapest (see EUROPE 13458/1).
”The aim of the informal meeting is to allow ministers to discuss in greater depth and breadth issues for which they may not have time during the formal Councils”, said Peter Stano, spokesman for the European External Action Service, on Tuesday 27 August. However, the subjects discussed will be those that have been on the agenda for formal meetings for months: the situation in Ukraine and developments in the Middle East.
The ministers will first discuss the conflict in Ukraine with their Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, at a time when the country is facing massive air attacks from Russia, including against its energy infrastructure, all the while continuing its incursion into the Russian region of Kursk.
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has repeatedly called for the supply of air defence to Kyiv to be stepped up.
The Informal EU Council will also address the peace process and Ukraine’s preparations for winter.
In addition, the ministers will discuss the situation in the Middle East in the context of the latest escalation of tensions in the region and the ongoing negotiation efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
On Sunday 25 August, Hezbollah fired several hundred rockets at Israel, which retaliated by striking Lebanon (see EUROPE 13468/13). The situation in Gaza keeps getting worse. More than 40,000 people are thought to have died since 7 October, and tensions are also high in the West Bank and Jerusalem. On Wednesday 28 August, Mr Borrell expressed his concern about the “repeated violations” of the status quo of the Holy Sites “under continued threat including from Minister (of National Security of Israel, Itamar) Ben-Gvir”, who has said he is in favour of establishing a synagogue on the Temple Mount/Mosque Esplanade, thus sharing the concerns of the Jordanian minister, Ayman Hsafadi, whose country is the custodian of Muslim holy sites. “They are fully legitimate and must be addressed by the international community. Regional stability is at stake”, said the High Representative on X.
The United Nations Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, will join the ministers’ discussion to brief Europeans on the humanitarian situation on the ground.
The lunch will be devoted to an exchange of views with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, on the state of relations between the EU and Turkey and on regional and global issues of common interest, in particular the Middle East and Ukraine. The Cyprus question is expected to be addressed. In April, the European Council underlined the EU’s strategic interest in developing a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Ankara (see EUROPE 13393/5).
The ministers will also discuss the political situation in Venezuela, where the Venezuelan Supreme Court recently confirmed the re-election of President Nicolás Maduro (see EUROPE 13468/4). The EU is still calling for all voting records to be published and verified before it can officially pronounce on the outcome of the presidential elections.
In the spring, in order to promote the organisation of free elections, the EU removed the president of the National Electoral Council from the list of Venezuelan dignitaries subject to European sanctions (see EUROPE 13409/39).
On Wednesday 28 August, one month after the presidential elections, the political opposition was once again called to the streets. The first demonstrations challenging Mr Maduro’s victory resulted in the deaths of 27 people.
Informal defence meeting
On Friday 30th, it will be the turn of the European defence ministers to meet informally in Brussels to discuss Ukraine and the Middle East.
They will examine European military support to Kyiv – including the EUMAM mission – and will be briefed by the Ukrainian side on the situation on the ground.
The ministers will discuss progress in mobilising the “windfall profits” from the income of frozen Russian assets for the supply of military equipment to Ukraine, initiatives by Member States, continued cooperation with NATO and the implementation of the $50 billion loan agreed by the G7.
The ministers will then discuss Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and defence preparedness. They will, among other things, examine the situation in the Middle East, in particular the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, and the challenges in the Red Sea and the Gulf, including the naval operation Eunavfor Aspides. On 21 August, it rescued the crew of a Greek-flagged oil tanker after an attack off the coast of Yemen (see EUROPE 13467/18).
In the light of the June European Council conclusions on security and defence and the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029 (see EUROPE 13441/4), the ministers will discuss “how the EU can help increase the overall defence readiness of Member States, including as regards financing for defence and efforts to address critical capability gaps”, according to a press release from the European External Action Service.
The session will be attended by the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Angus Lapsley, and the Chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Security and Defence, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.
Finally, lunch will be devoted to the work carried out by the EU Satellite Centre (SatCen) in recent years and how the Centre can best support the EU’s security and defence work in the future. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Mathieu Bion)