NATO – Mme Catherine Colonna participates in the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting (Brussels, 4 April 2023)

Mme Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will participate in the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on 4 April 2023.

Among other things, the meeting will prepare the next NATO summit, which will be held in Vilnius on 11 and 12 July. The Minister will promote the following priorities at it:

• The Alliance’s unity in support of Ukraine and the allies’ determination to support Ukraine for as long as necessary in the face of Russia’s aggression.
• The implementation of the commitments made at the Madrid summit in June 2022, particularly on the Alliance’s posture: the Minister – who, over the past few months, has been to Lithuania, Estonia and Romania, where France is deploying a military presence – will reaffirm our country’s commitment to contributing to the Enhanced Forward Presence on the eastern flank.
• The need for a deepening of cooperation between the European Union and NATO, in the presence of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

An important part of the meeting will also be the flag-raising ceremony that will symbolically confirm Finland’s accession to NATO. Mme Colonna will welcome a major step for the Atlantic Alliance. She will also stress the need for a swift ratification of Sweden’s accession protocol by all the allies so that, at the Vilnius summit, NATO can welcome this 32nd member, which, like Finland, will contribute significantly to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area.