European foreign policy passes through the Gymnich castle
The informal meetings of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the European Union are named after an ancient German castle
Gymnich Castle / credit: © Rhein-Erft Tourismus e.V.
The Foreign Affairs Ministers of the European Union meet informally around once every six months at a meeting called Gymnich. Such is the name which was historically adopted after the first meeting held in the German castle in Gymnich -which dates back to the XIV century, is located near Cologne and has long hosted the guests of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany- in 1974. The meeting took place during the German EU presidency and gathered the then nine EEC member states.
The economic crisis which hit the United States in 1973 pushed the then President Nixon and the Secretary of State Kissinger to try to revamp relations with Europe and give new impetus to the Atlantic Pact. Such intentions were then partly hampered by two dramatic events: the Yom Kippur War (and the resulting oil crisis) and the Watergate scandal. On that occasion, EEC member states and the Foreign Affairs Ministers tried to define a common line of approach to the relations with the United States, in an attempt to give Europe a common foreign policy.
Today, as in 1974, it is an informal meeting so conclusions are not adopted. Instead, basis are laid down and the major EU foreign policy issues are discussed. Since the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, Gymnich meeting has been chaired by the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and it has been gathering the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the member states.