Diplomacy

A meeting of the leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union takes place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday (24-25 June), and on the agenda are a number of issues related to EU foreign policy including relations with Turkey and Russia. The leaders, collectively called the European Council, will also review the implementation of their recent decisions on Belarus. The Council is also expected to adopt conclusions on Libya, the Sahel and Ethiopia.

Germany hosted the Second Berlin Conference On Libya (Berlin II) on Wednesday (23 June) to discuss the Libyan peace process and ways the international community can support the transitional government as it prepared for elections in December and deals with key economic and security files. The conference was hosted by the German government and the United Nations. 

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin have committed to nuclear arms control and reaffirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The leaders' first in-person meeting since Biden became president took place at a lakeside villa in Geneva on Wednesday, 16 June.

US president Joe Biden on Tuesday (15 June) visited the European institutions in Brussels for meetings with European Council president, Charles Michel, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

The leaders of NATO countries, representing thirty member states in Europe and North America, have identified China as a “systematic challenge” and promised to work together to address this. NATO leaders reaffirmed the Alliance’s dual-track approach of defence and dialogue towards Russia. They also pledged to continue to support NATO partners Ukraine and Georgia, bringing them closer to the Alliance.

With the geopolitical focus shifting towards the Indo-Pacific region and China's growing assertiveness, Indo-European relations become increasingly important. In this op-ed for commonspace.eu, Alex Petrosyan looks at how the EU and India are taking their co-operation to a higher level with the Connectivity Partnership launched in May, and why even closer relations are necessary.