At Gymnich, the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on 27-28 August in Berlin, the focus is on relations with Turkey and Russia, as well as the situation in Belarus and the EU’s strategic response to COVID‑19. EU mulls ‘options broader than sanctions’ on Turkey [ Ссылка ] #heritage #eudebates #HagiaSophia #Migration #Borrell #Turkey #Ankara #Erdogan
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All eyes on US, Germany, France, Greece and EU meetings over Turkey

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Merkel: All EU countries have an obligation to support Greece

Recent weeks have proven to be quite eventful - there have been extremely dynamic developments in a host of topics. It is not just that all states are still dealing with the COVID‑19 pandemic and the impact of the crisis. The situation in Libya, the eastern Mediterranean and in Belarus and Lebanon is also tense. There are many fronts in foreign policy where the European Union is called upon to take a stance and take action.

The so‑called Gymnich meetings – hosted every six months by EU High Representative Josep Borrell and the foreign minister of the member state holding the Council Presidency, on this occasion German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas – provide an opportunity to talk about current crises and at the same time to discuss more fundamental foreign policy and security issues of strategic importance in an informal setting.

Belarus – the EU calls for a peaceful solution
The foreign ministers will continue last week’s dialogue and talk about what role the EU can play to maintain pressure on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and help Belarus find a way out of the crisis through dialogue. Germany wants to garner EU support with a view towards promoting a peaceful national dialogue and/or a transition process in Belarus, as well as an OSCE mediation mission. As far as sanctions are concerned, the European External Action Service (EEAS) has circulated a proposed list to member states which will now be discussed.

Russia – a principled and more active EU policy
In preparation for discussions on EU relations with Russia, the EEAS has circulated a progress report on the implementation of the EU’s five guiding principles for relations with Russia, agreed upon in June 2016. On this basis, the foreign ministers will take stock of current relations and consider how to further develop EU‑Russia policy. Germany supports a principled, but also a more active policy on Russia, taking in open dialogue, but also upholding current sanctions, as long as the situation that triggered them does not change.

Turkey – dialogue vital
When it comes to Turkey, the ministers will talk about the whole spectrum of relations between the EU and Turkey. The informal nature of Gymnich meetings enables ministers to take a step back from day‑to‑day business and discuss issues like this from an overarching, strategic point of view. Given the current situation in the eastern Mediterranean, Foreign Minister Maas will of course also report back on his talks in Athens and Ankara.

A key element of EU‑Turkey relations is the dialogue process between EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Foreign Minister Maas wants to encourage EU member states to make a success of this dialogue. Particularly because relations with the EU are currently tense, constructive dialogue with Turkey is vital to find solutions to contentious issues in the eastern Mediterranean, but also for a peaceful political process in Libya.

The sanctions list for Belarus will be ready in the coming days, it will include high-ranking officials, said the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

“In the coming days, a list will be prepared in order to adopt it as soon as possible. Just today I received a letter from 11 EU member states with a request to do this as early as possible, according to an accelerated procedure, but we must follow the process, “TASS quotes him.

Borrell also said that the EU does not recognize the results of the elections in Belarus and “expresses support for the people.

“We condemn repression and ask the authorities to start a comprehensive dialogue in order to find a way out of the crisis,” he said.

Earlier, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko threatened to respond to countries that will impose sanctions against the republic.

In particular, he has already instructed the government to submit a proposal to reorient all trade flows from Lithuanian ports to others.

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