EU Ministers for Foreign Affairs met on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 September for the traditional informal meeting 'Gymnich', at the joint invitation of Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, and High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.
Migration and the refugee crisis were the main topic of discussion, with the Ministers focusing on cooperation with countries of origin and transit. The Ministers were therefore joined by representatives of the candidate countries for accession to the European Union to discuss the challenges faced by both parties with respect to migration.
"It cannot be a national solution, but only a European one," stated Minister Asselborn. "Europe is the synonym for values, international law and humanity. Europe risks losing its face and its essence and will be guilty if it calls into questions its values."
The Minister continued by stressing that "the image of Europe in the world is at stake", calling for a European solution to the refugee influx and demanding solidarity in dealing with the crisis.
Stressing the significant differences in terms of recognitions rate and the processing time of an application for asylum, Minister Asselborn then reiterated his words from the EU Ambassadors' Conference in Brussels, proposing a specialised European Court to deal exclusively with the treatment of international protection matters under a common rule enforcement regarding length of proceedings and acceptances. This task was said to potentially be held under the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
The Luxembourg Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Asylum, claimed that creating a system of quotas and 'human' distribution was "feasible and it is our duty". He added that he expected concrete results for the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) in October, following the extraordinary JHA Council convened by the Luxembourg Presidency for next Monday.
"No European country can claim not to have a culture or tradition of receiving refugees," the Minister continued.
Several working sessions within the 'Gymnich' convention discussed the various means available to the EU in order to re-establish the peace process in the Middle East and improve the situation in the region. Ministers concluded the meeting by reporting on the Eastern Partnership of the EU and relations between the Union and Russia, in the presences of Presideent of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (AFET).
Jean Asselborn is in Israel today to meet with Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the State of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.
Photos by eu2015lu.eu (Top L-R: Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn ; High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. Bottom L-R: Edgars Rinkēvičs, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Latvia) ; Paolo Gentiloni Silveri, Minister fr Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Italy) ; Spyridon Flogaitis, Delegate Minister for Foreign Affairs (Greece) ; Linas Linkevičius, Minister for Foreign Affairs (Lithuania) ; Charles Flanagan, Minister for Freign Affairs and Foreign Trade (Ireland))
