Minister Linkevičius to attend EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels
On 17 November in Brussels, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius will attend the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which will address the situation in Ukraine.
Other topics of the meeting include the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Ebola, the Middle East peace process, the situation in the Gaza Strip and Libya. The Council will be chaired for the first time by Federica Mogherini, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The Ministers will hold an in-depth discussion on the 26 October parliamentary elections in Ukraine and on the illegitimate “elections” held by the armed separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk on 2 November. The Council will address how the latest developments will impact the Minsk agreement. The question of extending sanctions against Russia will be examined. The Ministers will discuss tense security situation in eastern Ukraine, activities of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the humanitarian situation in the country, the Plan of Ukraine’s Recovery for 2015-2017 and the impact of the EU assistance on reforms in Ukraine.
The Ministers will take stock of the situation following the 12 October general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU’s role in the Western Balkans.
The European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, who is responsible for coordinating the EU efforts in its struggle against the deadly Ebola virus, will brief the Ministers about the results of his visit to the region in Africa that is affected by the outbreak.
F.Mogherini will inform about results of her trip to the Middle East region, the current situation and the latest contacts with representatives of the United States and the Quartet in an attempt to revive the Middle East peace process. The Ministers will exchange views on the EU’s previous role in this process, the implementation of the decisions taken at the Donor Conference for reconstruction in Gaza on 12 October in Cairo, and prospects for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The Council will also discuss the situation in Libya. On 6 November 2014, Libya’s Supreme Court declared the country’s internationally recognized and democratically elected House of Representatives illegal and unconstitutional.
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