EU foreign affairs ministers will again meet in Brussels, on Thursday 20 November, to discuss a number of recurring issues: - Russian aggression in Ukraine, with a focus on the Russian ‘shadow fleet’; - the Middle East; - as well as the Sahel and Sudan. They will also have an informal lunch on EU-ASEAN relations.
In other business, the Council will focus on the Union for the Mediterranean and the hybrid attacks carried out by Belarus against certain EU Member States (see EUROPE 13740/15), such as in Lithuania. The fight against organised crime will also be addressed, with the possible creation of a specific system of sanctions.
Ukraine. Ministers will be briefed on the latest developments by their Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, via videoconference.
In particular, the Council is expected to focus on the Russian ‘shadow fleet’. Last month, the European External Action Service (EEAS) presented options for putting pressure on this fleet (see EUROPE 13734/7).
This would involve stepping up sanctions against these vessels, in addition to adopting the traditional packages of measures against Russia. Contacts with flag States and work on a robust legal framework for managing vessels in Member States’ waters are also well advanced. On this point, Member States do not all have the same domestic provisions for implementing the law.
Support, particularly military support, and security guarantees for Ukraine could be mentioned, as could the situation in the energy sector, following numerous Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.
Middle East. Ministers will also review the situation in Gaza, a few days after the adoption of the United Nations Security Council resolution endorsing the US peace plan (see EUROPE 13754/34).
The Council is expected to consider the support that the EU could give to the implementation of this plan, in particular through its EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS missions. According to a European source, the EU could train up to 3,000 Gazan police officers outside the Palestinian enclave.
The EU also has a presence in the military and civilian coordination centre set up in October under the authority of the US, with a staff of around 10, including Christian Berger, Director of the EEAS Crisis Response Centre. Nine Member States are also present. The objective for the Europeans is to ensure that the work complies with international law and the European vision of the future of the region, to coordinate their messages, and to ensure that Europeans are more involved in the work.
The first meeting of the ‘Palestine Donor Group’ will be held in parallel with the Council. Some 60 delegations (Member States, partner countries including the United States, Gulf States, etc.) are expected to attend.
According to the European Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, the meeting will focus on “strengthening the financial resilience of the Palestinian Authority; implementing and accelerating reforms; supporting economic growth in the West Bank; and advancing reconstruction efforts in Gaza”.
The meeting will be an opportunity for the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, to take stock of the implementation of reforms and for donors to explain what they expect from the Palestinian Authority.
Although the meeting is not a pledging conference, a European source said, on Wednesday, that they expected several countries to confirm their financial support for the Palestinian Authority.
Sudan. In mid-afternoon, ministers will return to the situation in Sudan, where the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have continued to advance, particularly since taking the town of El Fasher in North Darfur, in late October. On Wednesday, the UN’s head of humanitarian operations, Tom Fletcher, told AFP that atrocities were being committed “with a sense of total impunity”.
On Thursday, ministers are expected to announce new EU sanctions, after a European diplomat the day before mentioned the name of Abdul Rahim Dagalo, the deputy commander of the RSF and the General’s brother.
The Foreign Affairs Council will also discuss the implementation of previously adopted conclusions on the ceasefire, humanitarian access, the protection of civilians and the transition to civilian governance.
Sahel. Ministers will also discuss the situation in the Sahel, where a jihadist resurgence - the extent of which Agence Europe outlined in September (see EUROPE 13715/19) - is undermining the military junta in power in Mali.
Ministers are expected to further their thinking with a view to defining a new European diplomatic approach in this region of Africa, where coups d'état have multiplied since 2020 and EU missions have been permanently suspended or significantly reduced.
“We cannot afford to remain passive in the face of what is happening. Between extremism, military coups - both successful and unsuccessful - the inability of juntas to guarantee security and the destabilising influence of Russia, the situation has become existential for the region, but also for us”, stated a high-level European source on Wednesday.
Indo-Pacific. Thursday evening sees the start of the 4th EU-Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, which continues on Friday 21 November.
It will bring together more than 70 delegations from EU countries and the Indo-Pacific region to discuss common priorities in the areas of security, digital connectivity and clean transition. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal, Bernard Denuit, Pauline Denys and Camille-Cerise Gessant)