(L-R) Gordan Grlic Radman, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia; Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs; Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italyinternational of Italy;
Credit: MAEE
On Monday 17 October 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, took part in the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU).
Ahead of the Council meeting, Minister Asselborn attended, alongside ten of his European counterparts, the launch of the “Group of Friends for ambitious European climate diplomacy”. The acceding countries commit to strengthen cooperation, coordination and implementation of ambitious climate diplomacy action through EU foreign and security policy. In this context, Minister Asselborn stressed that the EU must maintain its role as a leader and model in the fight against global warming.
During the formal Council session, EU foreign ministers first exchanged views on current European and international issues. In this context, they discussed the EU's engagement with Armenia and Azerbaijan, in particular through the deployment of around 40 EU observers on the Armenian side of the border between the two countries. Luxembourg fully supports the EU's commitment to contribute to de-escalation between the two countries and to pursue efforts at the highest level to achieve lasting peace in the region.
The European ministers then discussed the protest movement in Iran. Minister Asselborn strongly deplored the deadly repression of peaceful protests by Iranian security forces. In this context, EU Foreign Ministers adopted sanctions against eleven individuals and four entities involved in the repression of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini.
The ministers also returned to issues related to COP27, which will take place in November. The latest developments in Ethiopia, Lebanon and Burkina Faso were also discussed, as was the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the elections of 2 October 2022.
Subsequently, Minister Asselborn and his European counterparts had an in-depth discussion on issues related to Russian aggression against Ukraine and the ensuing energy and food crises. The ministers welcomed the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly on 12 October 2022 of a resolution on the territorial integrity of Ukraine, with a large majority of 143 member states in favour. In this context, Minister Asselborn also recalled the adoption of the resolution presented by Luxembourg last week in Geneva calling for the creation of a special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia.
Regarding the support provided by the EU to Ukraine, Minister Asselborn welcomed the establishment of a military training mission for Ukraine and welcomed the agreement reached on the granting a new allocation of €500 million for Ukraine under the European Peace Facility.
Finally, the ministers had an exchange of views on EU relations with China. Cooperation with China, as a major player on the international scene, is essential to address several global issues, including climate change, the environment and food security. In this regard, Minister Asselborn affirmed that Luxembourg supports the ambition to continue "to talk, work and negotiate with China", while pursuing our "commitment to human rights and the maintenance of strong multilateralism".
