On 18 January 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Ambassadors of the European Union Member States to Latvia. During the meeting, the Ambassador of Sweden, Karin Höglund, presented the priorities of Sweden’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of 2023.
One of the priorities of the Swedish Presidency is security and unity with the aim of strengthening the security of EU citizens and the EU’s global role. Sweden will also zoom in on the green and energy transition, the enhancement of competitiveness, especially the protection of the internal market, as well as the safeguarding of democratic values and the rule of law. Edgars Rinkēvičs expressed support for Sweden’s priorities during its Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The Foreign Minister drew attention to the work of the NB8 coordinated by Latvia this year being focused on creating a future security environment. Our principal objective this year, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined, is the strengthening of our common security while working towards a concerted response to Russia’s aggression and rallying support for Ukraine.