Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs took part in the meeting of the European Union (EU) General Affairs Council in Luxembourg. EU Member State Foreign Ministers discussed two important topics: the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2017; and EU enlargement, specifically the launch of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia.
"In a discussion on the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined that Latvia finds the proposal from the Finnish Presidency to be unacceptable," said a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Whether a compromise is achieved will depend on the balance to be found between funding for traditional policies – the Cohesion Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy – and the new ones including on climate, migration, and defence," it added.
On the second matter, Rinkēvičs expressed support for beginning negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, while recalling that, in Latvia’s case, the process of accession to the EU had been the best instrument to implement far-reaching domestic reforms.
