EU Defence Ministers began a two-day informal meeting in Riga, Latvia, Wednesday to discuss the ongoing EU military missions and operations, the recent changes in the global security environment. Latvia hold s the current EU Presidency.
According to an EU Presidency statement, the participants at the meeting include the Defence Ministers from the 28 EU Member States, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, Commanders of EU missions and operations, and Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General.
Meanwhile, Mogherini speaking at the gathering said "the meeting we are having today with the Defence Ministers is particularly important, as it comes in times where our security is threatened, both at our Eastern borders and at our Southern borders.
"And in this respect, it is important that the European Union works more together when it comes to working on its security. It is not only about military issues, we will discuss also today the ways in which the European Union is already providing support for the implementation of the Minsk agreements (on Ukraine)." Mogherini added that afterwards she will be flying to Washington for a meeting on extremist violence and counter-terrorism, "where I will have also the chance of speaking with Secretary of State Kerry and some of our Arab partners on the situation in Libya, in particular." Informal meetings of the EU Ministers for Defence take place every six months in the country holding the rotating EU Presidency. Such meetings are intended to informally discuss key issues on the EU Common Security and Defence Policy agenda.