Foreign Minister Soini to the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg

Press release 156/2015
18 June 2015

The EU Foreign Ministers will convene at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 22 June. Finland's representative in the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The agenda of the meeting will include EU-Asia relations, EU energy diplomacy and cooperation between the EU and the UN. In addition, the Foreign Affairs Council is expected to decide about the extension of sanctions on Russia.

Furthermore, the foreign ministers will discuss the situation in the Mediterranean and the use of the EU's toolkit to respond to the migration challenges. A key issue in this respect is preparation of the EU military operation to address the migration crisis (EUNAVFOR MED). 

As concerns the EU-Asia relations, the matters on the agenda include development of multilateral cooperation, such as between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU's strategic partnership with China. 

The cooperation between the EU and the UN can be discussed at the foreign ministers' lunch, which will be attended to by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Inquiries: Samuli Virtanen, Secretary of State, tel. +358 50 574 1763 and Johanna Birkstedt, Counsellor, tel. +358 40 352 3556.