Foreign Minister Soini to the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels
Press release 282/2015
11 December 2015
The EU Foreign Ministers will convene at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 14 December. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The agenda highlights will include the EU's Eastern Partnership, counter-terrorism, Libya, Iraq, and the cooperation between the EU and Turkey in international issues.
The Council will discuss actions following the Eastern Partnership Summit and the EU's Eastern Partners. The aim is to exchange views on recent political developments in the countries of the region.
In addition, based on High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini's progress report, the Ministers will review the EU’s external actions to counter terrorism.
Developments in Iraq and the EU's role in the area will also be touched upon. Other topics of discussion will include action against ISIL and migration matters.
The UN Secretary-General's new Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Martin Kobler will present his assessment of the current situation. The purpose is to bring up views of the next steps in the political process in Libya and to discuss how all the actors could be involved in the peace process.
The cooperation between the EU and Turkey will be discussed at an informal lunch with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Prior to the Foreign Affairs Council meeting, the Finnish and Latvian foreign ministers will host an informal meeting over breakfast, focusing on Belarus. This meeting, convened at the initiative of the Finnish and Latvian foreign ministers, will be attended by the foreign ministers of EU member states and Belarus.
The Nordic foreign ministers will meet in connection with the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in order to exchange information and to strengthen the cooperation in matters related to the refugee crisis and the uncontrolled migratory flows, including addressing the root causes of the phenomenon.
Inquiries: Raili Lahnalampi, Chief of Foreign Minister Soini's Cabinet, tel. +358 50 550 7546 and Sari Rautio, European Correspondent, tel. +358 295 351 534.