Government Vice-President and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Sunday, 22 June 2014 will depart for Luxembourg to participate in the proceedings of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and to chair the EU General Affairs Council (GAC).

On Sunday at 19:30, Venizelos will attend an Informal Dinner of European and Arab Foreign Ministers – for a discussion of the situation in the Middle East – at the invitation of the Foreign Ministers of Luxembourg and the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, 23 June, Venizelos will head the European delegation at the EU-Turkey Association Council, which will be followed by a press conference at approximately 10:00.

Venizelos will then take part in the Foreign Affairs Council, at which, with Ukraine’s new Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin in attendance, there will be a discussion of developments in Ukraine. The FAC will then look at Southern Neighbourhood issues and the situation in Syria, with a discussion of the security situation in Iraq set to take place during the Foreign Ministers’ luncheon.

On Tuesday, 24 June, Venizelos will chair the EU-Montenegro Intergovernmental Conference and the General Affairs Council. The agenda for the GAC includes the European Semester, Cohesion Policy, the European Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region, and the adoption of the European Maritime Security Strategy. The GAC will also consider Enlargement issues, including the Stabilisation and Association process with Albania.

Later on Tuesday, Venizelos will travel to Brussels to attend the working dinner of NATO Foreign Ministers, during which the discussion will cover, among other things, the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

On Wednesday, 25 June 2014, Venizelos will participate in the Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers, the agenda for which includes the Alliance’s future relations with Afghanistan, the development of partners’ defensive capabilities, and the enhancement of interoperability. The NATO Ministerial will also look at NATO-EU relations, implementation of the Alliance’s support measures for Ukraine, and the outlook for NATO-Russia relations.