Informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers to take place in Riga

Met dank overgenomen van Lets voorzitterschap Europese Unie 1e helft 2015 (Lets voorzitterschap) i, gepubliceerd op vrijdag 13 februari 2015.

On 18-19 February at the National Library of Latvia, the informal meeting of the EU Ministers for Defence will take place to discuss current issues and prepare for the European Council discussion on defence in June 2015 - the most important event in this area during the Latvian Presidency.

The EU Defence Ministers will discuss progress in implementing previous European Council conclusions, hybrid warfare and strategic communication, as well as the ongoing EU military missions and operations, the use of EU battle groups, and the recent changes in the global security environment.

The participants at the informal meeting include the Defence Ministers from the 28 Member States, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, Commanders of EU missions and operations, including General Sir Adrian John Bradshaw, the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe who is also the Operation Commander of EUFOR Althea, and Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General.

Informal meetings of the EU Ministers for Defence take place every six months in the country holding the rotating Presidency of the EU Council. Informal meetings are intended to informally discuss the key issues on the EU Common Security and Defence Policy agenda.

On 19-20 December 2013, for the first time since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force, the European Council held a thematic debate on defence. It identified three priority actions for stronger cooperation - to increase the effectiveness, visibility and impact of the CSDP; to enhance the development of military capabilities; and to strengthen the European defence industry. Since then, the relevant EU institutions and Member States have worked on carrying out the tasks given by the European Council.

For the attention of the media

Media representatives are invited to attend the press events scheduled for the informal meeting of the EU Defence Ministers, obtaining accreditation via the accreditation system on the Presidency website.