Foreign Minister Tuomioja to attend the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers
Press release 53/2006
8 March, 2006
Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs, will attend the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Affairs Ministers, known as the Gymnich Meeting, to be held on 10–11 March in Salzburg, Austria. Prior to the meeting in Salzburg, Tuomioja will visit FYR Macedonia and Albania.
The themes for the opening day of the meeting in Salzburg are the Middle Eastern peace process, Iran, Ukraine and Belarus. The last two countries are preparing for elections and the situations there will also be examined against this background. Presidential elections will be held in Belarus on 19 March and parliamentary elections in Ukraine on 26 March. With regard to the Middle East, developments in the Palestinian territories will be assessed, as will the situation in Israel – which is also preparing for parliamentary elections. As for Iran, the country’s nuclear programme gives cause for concern.
On the second meeting day, attention will turn to the situation in the Western Balkans. First the Foreign Ministers of EU Member States will discuss Kosovo, the future of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and the “Communication from the Commission – The Western Balkans on the road to the EU: consolidating stability and raising prosperity”. The discussions on Kosovo will start with a talk given by President Martti Ahtisaari. Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Enlargement, will also take part in discussions on the Western Balkans. Thereafter an informal meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Western Balkan countries and Turkey will take place; items on the agenda then include the Western Balkan situation and the region’s relations with the EU.
The topic of discussion at the luncheon concluding the meeting is dialogue between cultures and religions. A talk will be given by Abdullah Gül, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey.
Informal Meetings of the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers are held twice a year, i.e. once during each EU Presidency. The first meeting was held in 1974 at Gymnich castle near Bonn, Germany. The intention is to hold the informal meeting during the Finnish Presidency in Lappeenranta on 1–2 September.
Before the meeting in Salzburg, Foreign Minister Tuomioja will visit FYR Macedonia and Albania. On 9 March he will meet the political leaders of these countries in Skopje and Tirana. The topics to be discussed are Finland’s relations with these countries, their EU association process, the situation in Kosovo and questions pertaining to the Western Balkans during Finland’s upcoming EU Presidency.
Additional information: for information about Gymnich, Jarno Syrjälä, Head of Unit, Unit for European Common Foreign and Security Policy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5026; for information about FYR Macedonia and Albania, Juha Ottman, Head of Unit, tel. +358 9 1605 5784, and Senior Adviser Kirsti Hyyppä, tel. +358 9 1605 5626, both of the Unit for Western Balkans, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.