On 17 March 2021, the political consultations were held between the political directors of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and Slovenia. Latvia was represented in the talks by the Under Secretary of State, Political Director Jānis Mažeiks.
Consultations took place at Slovenia’s initiative in order to discuss current foreign policy matters and Slovenia’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union in the 2nd half of 2021.
The Director-General at the Directorate for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, Jernej Müller, presented an overview of work on the presidency priorities to be approved in June. One of the crosscutting topics will be the strengthening of resilience. The Political Directors of the Baltic Foreign Ministries welcomed the planned priorities. Jānis Mažeiks emphasised that strengthening of resilience will be essential not only in the context of the lessons of the pandemic but also in other respects, for instance in relation to the EU’s neighbouring regions.
Consultations also addressed foreign policy topics of current importance with a special focus on developments in the Eastern partnership countries and the EU’s relations with Russia. The officials underlined the need for maintaining a common EU policy vis à vis Russia.
In a further discussion on foreign policy issues, the Political Directors shared views on the development of cooperation with China and highlighted the importance of a common EU position with regard to values, economic cooperation and security.
The Political Director of the Slovenian Foreign Ministry briefed his partners from the Baltic States about activities planned by Slovenia in the Western Balkans during its EU Presidency. The emphasis, he said, will be laid on practical affairs, especially those that contribute to strengthening the region’s resilience.