NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed his presence at the Informal Meeting of Defence Ministers of EU member states, scheduled to take place in Bucharest on January 30 and 31, Defence Minister Gabriel Leş said on Thursday.
According to Leş, the meeting, which will take place in the presence of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, will start on January 30 with a debate session organized and offered by the Romanian side, with discussions on the common interest of the UN, NATO and the EU: “Women, Peace and Security”.
“NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who has also confirmed his presence, and UN Deputy Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, were invited to participate in the debate,” Minister Leş said.
The Minister of Defence also says that “on January 31 will be held “in-depth discussions on the state of implementation of the EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy, with emphasis on the progress made in the implementation of defensce initiatives “.
“We will also discuss ways of ensuring the consistency of various European defence initiatives from the perspective of transposing EU Council decisions and using the best tools the Union has in hand to capitalize on the potential of innovation and technological research, for the support of the Member States armed forces,” the minister said.
Gabriel Leş also states that the informal meeting of defence ministers of the EU Member States, which is the first ministerial event organized in Romania after taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU, “eyes a common reflection and an exchange of views on the consolidation of the European project, focusing on the security and defence issues.”