Moratinos maakt agenda Gymnich bijeenkomst bekend (en)

On 5 and 6 March, Gymnich i (the informal half-yearly meeting of foreign affairs ministers) takes place in Córdoba, the first to be held under the Treaty of Lisbon and which will be attended by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton i. Prior to the meeting, its host, the Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, answers four questions for the Presidency website.

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  What are the aims of the meeting? The aim is to recover the old Gymnich spirit of serious debate and analysis in an informal atmosphere, without very fixed agendas, of the major challenges which the EU faces in its external action, and to place that spirit within the new structure of the Treaty of Lisbon. Córdoba is the ideal place for this on account of its heritage and architecture. I hope that the twenty-seven ministers and the High Representative feel very welcome in that city of dialogue, tolerance and understanding.
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  What matters is the Spanish Presidency going to put forward for debate? We have reduced the agenda to two major issues which are important for the future of European foreign policy: Firstly, the Middle East, at a critical time when we want to step up the European contribution to the efforts of the new American government; dialogue must resume, both between Israelis and Palestinians and between Syrians and Israelis, against the backdrop of the situation in Iran. And secondly, a major issue of fundamental, universal interest which is the external action of the EU. What are the Union's relations with the new emerging players going to be like? What is the future of the European External Action Service? How is the challenge of having a much more integrated and committed foreign policy shaping up, following the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon? At the lunch on 6 March, along with the candidate countries, we will tackle the Western Balkans - a mattter of interest to Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey - and prepare the high-level meeting which the Spanish Presidency would like to hold at the end of its six-month tenure.
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  What outcomes do you hope to achieve? As you know, formal conclusions are not adopted at Gymnich meetings, but I hope that we are able to make important and strategic decisions on the Union's position regarding the future of the Middle East and what will be the new foreign policy in relation to the main international players who constitute the new balance in the international community.
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  Why is it important for Europe to adopt strategic positions? If we have a new treaty, with new institutions and leaders who are going to represent us with a single voice, we must have, I would not say a single foreign policy, since the Treaty maintains unanimity in decision-making, but we must move more and more towards common strategies in the EU's relations with China, the USA and Russia, and towards defining what is going to be our policy towards Latin America and the Middle East. We must have the will and political commitment to build the EU's new position in the multipolar world together.