European Union - Jean-Yves Le Drian’s participation in the Foreign Affairs Council (Brussels, 17 February 2020)

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Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, took part in the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on February 17.

The ministers discussed the following issues:

  • Relations with Africa: The Council prepared for the African Union (AU) - European Union (EU) ministerial conference due to take place in Kigali in May and the African Union - European Union (AU-EU) summit due to take place in Brussels at the end of October. The ministers discussed the objectives of a renewed EU-AU partnership, with special emphasis on peace and security, especially in the Sahel region. France reaffirmed the importance of an enhanced role for the EU and its member states in this region, notably within the Coalition for the Sahel.
  • Libya: The ministers took stock of the security and political situation in the Sahel. They discussed international and European support for the Berlin Process and the ways in which the EU can help implement the embargo and the ceasefire in this country, in accordance with the goals of Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Ghassan Salamé.
  • India: The ministers exchanged views with Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in order to prepare for the India-EU summit on March 13 in Brussels. France would like this important meeting to signal the strengthening of relations between the two partners at the political, environmental, economic and security levels over the next five years, with the adoption of the Joint Agenda for Cooperation 2020-2025.
  • Other topical issues were discussed: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the EU’s attachment to the internationally agreed parameters in the context of the most recent American statements: the Middle East, as well as the Western Balkans, as a follow-up to the visits by High Representative Josep Borrell to these regions; the situation in Venezuela, with particular emphasis on greater EU involvement in this matter in support of a credible political process.