The June 2015 European Council Discussion will be important for Further Development of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy

Riga, 18 February, 2015. – On February 18, during the informal meeting of the EU Defence Ministers, the 28 Ministers of Defence agreed that it is important to ensure that in June the heads of state and government debate strategic security challenges and discuss about the EU response toward them.

The EU Defence Ministers concluded that the recent events in the EU neighboring regions reflected that hybrid threats are the common challenge for the EU as a whole. The Ministers stressed that it has to be noted that the further tasks should be given during the European Council discussion in June to tackle this problem.

“We discussed the preparations for the forthcoming European Council discussion, which will be an important reference point for further development of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy,” explained Raimonds Vējonis, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia.

The informal meeting of the EU Defence Ministers is about the European Council discussion on defence, the EU fight against hybrid threats, strategic communications, as well as the EU rapid response force.

As reported before, on February 18-19 at the National Library of Latvia, the informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Defence is taking place to discuss current issues and prepare for the European Council discussion on defence in June 2015 - the most important event in the defence policy area during the Latvian Presidency.

The participants of the informal meeting include Ministers of Defence of the 28 Member States, Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Commanders of the EU missions and operations and Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General.

Media contacts:
Anete Gnēze, Senior Desk Officer of the Media Relations Section
Military Public Affairs Department
Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Latvia
Phone: 00 371 67335093; Cell: 00 371 26474087
E-mail: anete.gneze@mod.gov.lv
Website: www.mod.gov.lv