“As the initiator of the Eastern Partnership, Poland is actively involved in discussions on its future,” said Minister Czaputowicz after the ministerial meeting on the Eastern Partnership’s tenth anniversary. The purpose of the meeting was to take stock of the programme’s achievements and to discuss its future. “Ten years on since the programme was set up, we need to be ready to make the Eastern Partnership structurally stronger,” explained the chief of Polish diplomacy. He added that Poland made a number of concrete proposals which should contribute to strengthening and deepening cooperation between the EU and EaP countries. “They address three main areas: approximation of legislation, sectoral cooperation and institutionalisation,” explained Minister Czaputowicz. 

The main topic of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting was the situation in Libya and the Sahel region. The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salamé also took part in the discussion on Libya. The Council has adopted a declaration expressing the EU’s support for the political process under the auspices of the UN and calling on the parties to the conflict to end the fighting and return to political dialogue. Minister Jacek Czaputowicz stressed the importance of maintaining the EU28’s unified position, while stressing the need for appropriate action by the UN Security Council. Poland is ready to take action to reach a consensus within the UNSC in this respect, including by coordinating actions with the Council’s European members.

The foreign ministers’ discussion on the Sahel focused on the EU’s support for the G5 Sahel Joint Force, which aims to counter threats to the region’s security, including terrorism and Islamist militia operations. 

During the Council meeting, the chief of Polish diplomacy presented the results of the Berlin Process Ministerial Meeting in Warsaw this April and the state of preparations for the Western Balkans Summit which will take place in Poznan on 4-5 July. He also raised Russia’s actions in the context of presidential elections in Ukraine, calling for a strong EU response to these actions.

While in Belgium, Minister Jacek Czaputowicz also took part in a reception organised by the Polish Embassy in Brussels on the occasion of the Third of May Constitution National Holiday. 

MFA Press Office

 

Photo Tymon Markowski / MFA