EU Member States’ foreign ministers will meet informally on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 May, in Warsaw, to discuss relations with their British and American allies, the situation in Ukraine and European resilience.
On Wednesday, ministers will begin their meeting with a discussion on EU-UK relations in the presence of their British counterpart, David Lammy. They could discuss security and defence cooperation currently under negotiation, or Ukraine. This discussion will take place just a few days before the EU-United Kingdom summit on 19 May, in London.
On Thursday morning, ministers will discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine, in particular the situation in Ukraine, European support for Kyiv and the peace talks under the aegis of the United States, which are making no progress. Numerous ministers are due to visit Ukraine on 9 May, in contrast to the ceremonies organised in Moscow to mark the anniversary of end of the Second World War.
Diplomatic leaders will then discuss EU-US relations from a foreign policy and security perspective. “The United States’ commitment to Europe’s security remains essential. Europe is ready to assume its responsibilities by significantly increasing its contribution to its security and defence”, stated the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, in a press release.
In the presence of their counterparts from candidate and potential candidate countries, with the exception of Georgia, which has not been invited, ministers will hold a lunch to discuss “challenges for European foreign and security policy, in particular building resilience to hybrid threats”. European countries are facing foreign interference, manipulation of information, cyber attacks and sabotage. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)