Credit: MAE
On Tuesday 15 October 2024, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, participated in the meeting of the EU General Affairs Council (GAC), which was held in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.
The meeting allowed the ministers to discuss issues in preparation for the next European Council being held on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 October 2024. In this context, Minister Xavier Bettel and his counterparts discussed Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, competitiveness and migration. Regarding Ukraine, Minister Bettel stressed the importance of continuing European support to Ukraine to enable it to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to protect its civilian population, cities and critical infrastructure, particularly as winter approaches.
The GAC also adopted a declaration on promoting Jewish life and combating anti-Semitism. Finally, the ministers also took stock of EU-Switzerland relations.
Ahead of the GAC, Minister Bettel also attended the second intergovernmental conference between the EU and Albania to follow up on Albania's EU accession negotiations.
Finally, Minister Bettel held bilateral meetings with the Danish Minister for European Affairs, Marie Bjerre, and the French Minister Delegate for Europe, Benjamin Haddad. These meetings were an opportunity to discuss bilateral relations and various current European and international issues.
