Informele ontmoeting ministers van buitenlandse zaken van Europa (en)
On 2nd-3rd September Sopot will play host to an informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU Member States according to the Gymnich i formula.
Informal meeting of foreign ministers of EU Member States is taking place according to the Gymnich formula in Sopot on 2nd-3rd September.
On 2nd-3rd September 2011, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, Radoslaw Sikorski, and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton i, will be the hosts of an informal meeting of European Union Ministers of Foreign Affairs taking place in Sopot according to the Gymnich formula.
The subjects of the ministerial talks will include the Middle East peace process and relevant diplomatic initiatives envisaged during the September session of the United Nations General Assembly i. The talks will also deal with joint efforts in support of democratic transformations under way in the countries of the EU’s southern and eastern neighbourhoods. In addition, the ministers will discuss the further strengthening of the Union’s external ties with strategic partners.
On the second day of the meeting, the discussion will also be joined by the foreign ministers of EU candidate states, including the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Iceland and Turkey.
The Ministers’ informal discussion will be enriched with a cultural programme drawing our guests’ attention to the historic significance of Gdansk and highlighting the tourist attractions of Sopot and Hel peninsula.
Meetings according to the Gymnich formula have traditionally been held during the six months of each successive EU Presidency. They are characterised by a free, in-depth exchange of views on issues of considerable significance to EU external relations. Unlike sessions of the Foreign Affairs Council, during these meetings no formal decisions are agreed. The term Gymnich comes from Gymnich Castle near Bonn, where during the German Presidency in 1974 the first such meeting was held.