On 25 January 2021, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the meeting of the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Belgium. The EU Foreign Ministers’ agenda included a discussion on climate and energy diplomacy, a video conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, and an informal discussion on the future relationship between the European Union and the United Kingdom in foreign affairs and defence.
The Council devoted particular attention to human rights violations in Russia related to the arrest of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny and they discussed the disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators last weekend.
The Latvian Foreign Minister, Edgars Rinkēvičs, underlined that the moment was ripe to make use of the EU’s global human rights sanctions regime on which the Member States agreed at the end of last year. Application of sanctions would send a strong signal of how the EU can respond swiftly and in a concerted manner. Such human rights violations are unacceptable, the minister added.
On the subject of transatlantic relations, the Foreign Minister stressed that at this point the EU should begin active cooperation with the new United States administration, since the EU and transatlantic relations have some common agenda points, for instance Russia and China, as well as the impact of climate on security matters. The Foreign Ministers’ dicussion is currently focused on how to increase the EU’s influence on global climate ambitions and efforts to address climate change, and on the geopolitical aspects of energy transition.