European Union – Minister’s participation in the Foreign Affairs Council (June 24, 2025)

The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs took part in the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) held on June 23 in Brussels.

With regard to the situation in Ukraine, the Ministers underscored the EU and its Member States’ continued support for Ukraine more than three years after the start of the Russian war of aggression. The Member States agreed to step up pressure on Russia and the third countries that support it economically through the swift adoption of large-scale sanctions targeting the Russian economy.

The situation in the Middle East and the troubling escalation between Iran and Israel were also discussed. Coming a day after the joint statement issued on June 22 by the leaders of the E3 (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) on the situation in the Middle East, the meeting emphasized the importance of de-escalation and the need to achieve a diplomatic solution with regard to oversight of the nuclear program and stressed the need for Iran to cease its destabilizing actions.

The Minister reiterated that the current escalation must not overshadow the intolerable situation in Gaza, and particularly the intolerable obstacles hindering access to humanitarian aid, as well as continued settlement activity in the West Bank. The Ministers took note of the report by the High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission, which states that article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement, dealing with human rights, is not being respected. They authorized Kaja Kallas to hold talks with the Israeli authorities to obtain concrete improvements in the situation and in respect for international humanitarian law. The Ministers will decide on this basis how they will follow up at the next Foreign Affairs Council meeting in July.

Lastly, with regard to Georgia, the Ministers expressed their concern over the serious deterioration in the rule of law, violence against protesters and arbitrary arrests.