Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos will travel to Vilnius, Lithuania, on Friday, 6 September, to attend the two-day Informal (Gymnich) Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.
The agenda for the first day of the meeting includes preparations for the upcoming December EU Council, which will focus on the upgrading of the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). There will also be a discussion of the Eastern Partnership and the Southern Neighbourhood; that is, European policy on its eastern and southern partners, respectively.
On Saturday, 7 September, the agenda for the meeting, which is also to be attended by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, includes the situation in Syria, the course of the Middle East peace process, and recent developments in Egypt.
In the context of the discussion, Mr. Venizelos will provide a detailed briefing on his meetings in Cairo, on 5 September, with Egypt’s government and political leadership, with the Egyptian Foreign Minister, with the Secretary General of the Arab League, and with representatives of political parties.
September 5, 2013