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Federal Minister of Defence Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and EU High Representative Josep Borrell have jointly invited the EU defence ministers to an informal meeting in Berlin.
There they will focus on developing the Strategic Compass and a threat analysis, as well as improving operational contributions by the EU. They will also exchange views on the post-COVID-19 order. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix have also been invited to attend the meeting.
The Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers traditionally takes place in the country holding the Council Presidency. It serves as a forum to discuss current and general defence issues at EU level and is usually held at the start of a Council Presidency. The meeting is formally chaired by the EU High Representative and hosted by the country holding the Council Presidency.
Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers in Berlin: Message of greeting by the Federal Minister of Defense
It coincides with the Informal Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the EU Member States, known as the Gymnich meeting, which will also be held in Berlin on 27 and 28 August 2020.
The seventh meeting of the defence ministers of countries participating in the Framework Nations Concept (FNC) is scheduled to coincide with and to complement the Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers. This underlines the progress made in EU-NATO cooperation and emphasises the strengthening of the European pillar of NATO.
The German Federal Ministry of Defence considers the Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers to be the main event within the framework of Germany’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This meeting also provides an opportunity to set priorities for the further development of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).
Further events to take place before the end of the year include the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting in the defence ministers’ format, which is planned to be held in Brussels in mid-November, the multinational medical exercise Resilient Response, due to take place at the end of November and to include reactions to a pandemic scenario, as well as a concluding high-level conference in Berlin on 10 December.