EU – Participation of Jean-Yves Le Drian in the Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels, 16 May 2022)

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Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian is attending today’s Council of EU Foreign Ministers.

The 27 ministers will discuss EU support for the countries of the Western Balkans, first among themselves and then joined by their six regional counterparts. Mr. Le Drian will remind the ministers that stepping up their engagement with these countries is one of the priorities of the French EU Council presidency. He will remind his regional counterparts of the importance of an alignment on sanctions taken by the EU in response to the Russian aggression against Ukraine and will reiterate France’s commitment to fulfilling their European aspirations.

The ministers will discuss the Ukrainian crisis in the presence of the Ukrainian and Canadian foreign ministers, Dmytro Kuleba and Mélanie Joly. Mr. Le Drian will reaffirm the EU’s full support for Ukraine, its independence and its territorial integrity. He will stress the scale of Europe’s response to the Russian aggression in the military, financial and humanitarian spheres, as well as in the area of sanctions, the fight against impunity, support to affected third countries, and the fight against the manipulation of information. He will emphasize the need to deal with the repercussions of this Russian-imposed war on food security.

The ministers will also review the issue of Finland and Sweden’s swift membership in NATO. Mr. Le Drian will repeat that France fully supports this sovereign choice.