|
|
First
NATO-EU meeting under new permanent arrangements
The first meeting of the North Atlantic Council and the
EU Political and Security Committee at Ambassadorial level
under the new permanent NATO-EU consultation arrangements
took place on 5 February at the EU, under Swedish presidency.
Discussions centred around two main subjects: the way
ahead for NATO-EU relations and the contribution of both
organisations to the management of the crisis in the Western
Balkans. Regarding NATO-EU relations, Ambassadors discussed
ongoing business between the two organisations and the
elements that remain to be resolved; regarding the situation
in the Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, they voiced
their concern over ongoing violence in the region and
stated that NATO and the EU are working together to help
stabilise the situation.
Under the new arrangements agreed by NATO and the EU
in January this year, three meetings per semester will
be held at Ambassadorial level and Foreign Ministers will
meet twice a year. All twenty-three members of NATO and
the EU participated in Monday's meeting: Austria, Belgium,
Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany,
Greece, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,
The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
|
