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On 18 July, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Linas Linkevičius, attended a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the European Union (EU) in Brussels. Matters in connection with Turkey, the fight against terrorism, the strategy of the EU global foreign and security policies, China, Latin America and migration were considered at the meeting. The ministers met the US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Mr Kerry gave an update to the EU ministers on the results of the visit to Moscow and reassured that trust was no longer sufficient in dealings with Russia and that only specific Moscow's actions were and should be taken into consideration. Ministers of foreign affairs of the Member States underlined that transatlantic cooperation had become of high importance in the new security architecture for making decisions on a variety of matters of foreign policy, in particular that in Syria, Libya, the East of the EU or as part of the revival of the Middle East peace process.

“Unity between the Member States and a strong transatlantic relationship are the key elements that can help guarantee results in the area of foreign policy,” – said Mr Linkevičius.

The Minister also thanked the USA for its active role in making decisions at the NATO Summit in Warsaw and invited the USA to act in even closer cooperation with the EU in the Middle East and North Africa as well as strengthen the position of the West and prevent terrorist networks from spreading. The Lithuanian Minister also encouraged granting balanced support to the partners in all streamlines, i.e. to both the Western Balkans and partners in the East.

The agenda of the FAC had been adjusted following the events in Nice and Turkey. At the outset of the meeting, the ministers observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims in Nice. French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault, who has presented the tragic events in Nice last Friday as part of the discussions on the matter in connection with the fight against terrorism, urged his colleagues to be involved in the resolution of conflicts in Africa and Syria in a more active manner and requested for support for the missions undertaken by France as well as for the EU and the United Nations operations in Africa. This would allow France allocating larger capacities for ensuring security inside the country and for the fight against terrorism. The minister urged expanding the mandate of Sophia, the EU operation in the Mediterranean, in particular in terms of the fight against arms trade. All ministers offered their condolences to the people of France.

Discussing the events in Turkey over lunch, the EU ministers of foreign affairs expressed their support to the constitutional order in Turkey and condemned the attempted military coup; however they urged the state leaders to refrain from repression and shared their expectations for the rule of law, the principles of democracy and freedom of expression, human rights and fundamental freedoms and everyone’s right to impartial court being ensured in Turkey. It has been noted that the discussion on the restoration of death penalty that has been recently launched in Turkey is of concern. Mr Linkevičius said that the restoration of death penalty would have a highly detrimental effect on the negotiations between Turkey and the EU for its membership in the Community. “Turkey is an EU candidate and one of the key partners of the EU. And death penalty is incompatible with the mentioned status,” – said the Minister.

Ministers shared their views on the contents of the strategy of the EU global foreign and security policies and further steps. “Given the present situation, the unity and solidary of the EU must be maintained through strengthening and implementing the agenda of the EU foreign policy, and the guidelines in the Global strategy must be respected,” – said Mr Linkevičius.

Communication “Elements for a new EU strategy on China”, whereby the guidelines for the EU engagement with China for the next five years are proposed, has been issued at the FAC meeting. The ministers also briefly discussed the issues of Latin America and migration.