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Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu attends August 30-31 an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich) hosted by Prague as part of the events under the Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Regarding the issuance of visas to Russian citizens travelling to the EU, Aurescu will plead for the suspension of the agreement between the European Community and the Russian Federation on the facilitation of the issuance of visas to the citizens of the European Union and the Russian Federation as he will express his openness to the adoption of measures to restrict the movement of Russian citizens, with reference to visas for the tourism purpose.
According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), featuring on the agenda will be EU's relations with Africa and the Russian aggression against Ukraine, including from the perspective of its implications on the EU-Russia relations.
The discussions regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine will offer the European foreign ministers an opportunity to reconfirm EU unity and support for EU unitary actions in support of Ukraine.
The subject will be approached in terms of current and future challenges arising from the management of the EU relations with Russia. On this item on the agenda Aurescu will reiterate the need for the EU and its member states to continue providing consistent support to Ukraine and will highlight Romania's contribution to these efforts, on a political, economic and humanitarian level, says MAE.
He will report on the developments in Romania's support to Ukraine, including facilitating grain exports from Ukraine through Romanian ports. The talks will also explore new EU measures to strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself against the Russian aggression, as well as to ease and maintain pressure on the Russian Federation.
On the consequences to the countries in the region, the Romanian official will present arguments in favour of the EU's strong support for Moldova, a country deeply affected by the situation in Ukraine. It will show that it is essential to increase the resilience of the Eastern partners, including through measures such as those under the European Peace Facility, told Agerpres.
Regarding the implications of the aggression against Ukraine on the EU's approach of its relations with Russia, Aurescu will show that any reflection on the future of EU-Russia relations must take into account the developments in Ukraine, with an emphasis on the need to reduce dependence on Russia and ensure coherence between NATO and EU approaches of their relationship with the Russian Federation.
On the sidelines of the meeting of the EU ministers there will be an informal working meeting also attended by the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia.
This will be the first meeting in this format after the June 2022 decision of the European Council regarding the recognition of the European perspective for the three states associated with the EU and granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine and the Moldova.
Aurescu will mention the particular importance of the decision of the European Council of June 2022, both to the three associated states and to the EU, and will express support for the implementation of the necessary reforms included in the European Commission's opinions regarding each of the three states, including by capitalising on the tools of the Eastern Partnership, which in turn require a new approach adjusted for the new reality in the EU's neighbourhood.
The discussion on EU-Africa relations takes place six months after the EU-African Union Summit of February 2022 in Brussels, amid an intensification of challenges faced by the countries on the African continent as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, with emphasis on the food crisis generated by Russia's behaviour. Aurescu will express support for the objectives of EU co-operation with African countries and will mention Romania's priorities regarding EU relations with Africa.
