On April 9th in Vienna, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics met with the Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of Austria Sebastian Kurz, LETA was informed by the Foreign Ministry.

Edgars Rinkevics and Sebastian Kurz. Vienna, 9.04.2015. Photo: flickr.com

During their meeting, the ministers discussed bilateral relations, the present course and accomplishments of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga.

Rinkevics positively evaluated the active political and expert level dialogue between Latvia and Austria that has been established in international organizations and in the areas of economy, education – including vocational education in particular, and culture. Both officials concurred that cooperation should be expanded and continued.

The Latvian foreign minister also expressed his conviction that Latvia was running its first presidency successfully, following a decade of EU membership.

Referring to the upcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, Rinkevics emphasized that it was essential for the Summit to agree on a powerful declaration that would outline a realistic perspective for the further development of the Eastern Partnership.

“In advance of the Riga Summit, a reasonable compromise should to be sought in view of the declaration being a European Union policy document. It is in the interests of the EU as a whole to finalize the ratification of Association Agreements in most Member States before the Riga Summit. Therefore, I hope that Austria will have completed internal procedures for the ratification by that time,” said the Latvian foreign minister.

The foreign ministers also drew attention to the EU's enlargement policy in relation to Western Balkans. Recalling his recent visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rinkevics said it was important for the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to continue efforts on the development of a program for initial reforms, especially in regard to socio-economic reforms and reforms on ensuring the functionality of the state. In turn, the EU Council conclusions about the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia should be balanced and should include, among other things, support from the EU for further integration of the country into the EU.