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Ārlietu ministrs piedalās ES Vispārējo lietu padomē Luksemburgā

On 18 October 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, participated in the meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) in Luxembourg.

The Council focused on the proposal concerning a reform of the rules governing the European Parliament elections, held a debate on a follow-up event to the Conference on the Future of Europe and the need of a Convention for the revision of the Treaties, and continued preparations for the European Council meeting on 20-21 October.

Edgars Rinkēvičs was disapproving of the European Parliament’s proposals to create an EU-wide constituency and to call a Convention for the revision of the main EU Treaties: he pointed out that, with the war under way, this was not the right time for such ambiguous experiments and the EU should focus on addressing the geopolitical and energy crisis.

The Foreign Minister also noted that in the upcoming European Council debate, Latvia would pay special attention to topics involving Ukraine and energy. EU leaders should continue with their unwavering support for Ukraine and decide on further assistance to Ukraine as it is defending itself against the increasing Russian aggression, and to the country’s economy and reconstruction. Latvia will also call on EU leaders to support the initiative on the establishment of a special tribunal to punish Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine. Latvia stands up for expanding sanctions on Russia, as well as on Belarus for supporting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Edgars Rinkēvičs said.  

The Foreign Minister pointed out that energy-related issues would have an uppermost importance at the European Council’s debate, and those matters call for a concerted EU action to enable well-considered reduction of energy consumption, ensure the security of supplies and reduce the impact of price hikes. Latvia expects that the European Commission’s will make it possible to achieve those aims.

The General Affairs Council also discussed the state of play regarding the rule of law in Poland. The European Commission then introduced the Member States to its Communication on the Enforcement of EU Law adopted on 13 October 2022 and setting out the Commission’s work to ensure that EU law is complied with.

Background information

The meetings of the General Affairs Council are held once a month. In the second half of 2022, the meetings of the General Affairs Council are chaired by the Czech Republic, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.