On 12 December 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Krišjānis Kariņš, took part in the meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels. In the light of the European Commission’s annual Enlargement Package, the agenda of the meeting included a discussion on EU enlargement and reports on the Western Balkans countries and Turkey. For the first time, the meeting of the General Affairs Council also considered reports on Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia.
Krišjānis Kariņš expressed support for the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, as those countries have demonstrated significant progress in meeting the conditions set out for them. The meeting failed to take political decisions on the further process, and discussions will continue at the European Council. Latvia joined the declaration of the majority of countries, which underlined the need for recommendations from the European Commission to be followed in political decisions, which also includes the recommendation on the opening of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova.
At the meeting, the ministers continued preparations for the European Council on 14 and 15 December, exchanged views on improvements to the rule of law dialogue, which envisages sharing best practice between Member States on the rule of law matters. Ministers approved the Council conclusions on policy tools for managing demographic change, which will provide support to Member States in addressing challenges related to demographic change. Representatives from the Member States were introduced to the roadmap for the 2024 European Semester aimed at evaluating the economic situation in the EU as a whole and providing a framework for the coordination of economic policies among the EU Member States. The Council then discussed the proposal for the creation of an EU macro-regional strategy for the Atlantic area, which will make it possible for the countries in the region to jointly find solutions to their problems.
