The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, took part in the meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union, held in Brussels on 29 January 2024.
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(from l. to r.) Xavier Bettel, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs; Anna Lührmann, Minister of State for Europe, Federal Foreign Office
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(from l. to r.) Raffaele Fito, Minister for European Affairs, Cohesion Policies and the NRRP; Xavier Bettel, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs;
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(from l. to r.) Adam Szlapka, Minister for the European Affairs; Xavier Bettel, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs; Hadja Lahbib, minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Trade and Federal Cultural Institutions
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(from l. to r.) Tiago Antunes, State Secretary for European Affairs; Peter Burke, Ministe of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for EU Affairs, Minister of State at the Department of Defence; Xavier Bettel, Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs
The agenda included the presentation of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the "Defence of Democracy" legislative package, the annual dialogue on the rule of law, and the European elections.
Minister Bettel pointed out that Luxembourg continues to attach great importance to respect for the rule of law within the EU. "The rule of law is one of the fundamental values of the Union", he said, adding: "It is also essential for the protection of all the other fundamental values of the Union, in particular fundamental rights and democracy". As part of the annual dialogue on the rule of law, Minister Bettel also gave a speech on behalf of the Benelux countries.
With regard to the "Defence of Democracy" in Europe legislative package, the Minister welcomed the efforts to strengthen the transparency and democratic accountability of interest representation activities on behalf of third countries. In this respect, the Minister reiterated Luxembourg's commitment to an open space for civil society, and stressed the importance of having a clear legal framework that applies to the whole of the EU.
Finally, with regard to the European elections, Minister Bettel reiterates that it will be "more important than ever to work towards strengthening our democracies". Luxembourg, for its part, is seeking to increase the rate of participation in European elections by non-Luxembourg residents from another member state. In this context, the government and the European Parliament's liaison office in Luxembourg have launched a campaign called "I can vote".
Press release by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade