The external aspects of the EU's counter-terrorism policy were discussed yesterday during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, attended by Foreign Minister George Vea.
The meeting discussed terrorism following the recent attacks in Paris, relations with Russia and the situation in Libya.
Ministers held an exchange of views with the secretary of general of the League of Arab States, Nabil El-Araby, during which regional foreign policy and security issues were raised as well as the state of play of relations between the European Union and the League
Ministers also agreed on an action plan for climate diplomacy in view of the United Nations Climate Change Conference which will take place in Paris in November.
The ministers agreed on the need to strengthen engagement with countries in the Middle East and North Africa countries through political and security dialogue. They also addressed the need to improve EU Communication with the Muslim World population and stressed the importance of the swift implementation of the EU Strategy on Syria/Iraq and Counterterrorism/Foreign fighters adopted by the Foreign Affairs Council last October.
The Council held a strategic debate on the status of relations with Russia, and agreed that their reflections today did not constitute a shift in direction or a normalisation of relations but an exchange on how to better utilise available tools available to the EU, apart from the restrictive measures already in place. Ministers stressed that Russia's obligations under the Minsk Protocol had to be fully honoured for improved relations to materialise.
With the secretary general of the League of Arab States, who joined the meeting for a working lunch, the ministers discussed the strategic dialogue between the EU and the League, as well as ways to deepen relations on key political and security issues.
The meeting also served as an opportunity to have an exchange of views on the recent developments regarding Libya, the Middle East Peace Process, Iraq and Syria.
Dr Vella referred to the ongoing talks in Geneva and possible future actions for a stronger articulation of EU engagement including further EU support to the efforts of UN Secretary General Special Representative, Bernardino Leon to find a political solution in Libya.
He urged the EU not to allow the Geneva talks to fail and reiterated that Libya needed a political solution not a military one. Minister Vella also called for a stronger EU role in the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.
The Council agreed on coordinated and strategic diplomatic efforts ahead of the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Ministers agreed that EU delegations and embassies of EU States would be actively involved in promoting the EU position and facilitating dialogue with international partners.