Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos will be the host of the Informal Gymnich Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers, held in Athens today and tomorrow (April 4 -5). The meeting will be chaired by Catherine Ashton the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.

On the he first day of the meeting, discussions will focus on EU Southern and Eastern Neighborhoods – with emphasis on the situation in Ukraine and Syria – and on the Union’s relations with its strategic partners. The next day, the 28 EU Foreign Ministers will attend a working breakfast with their counterparts from EU acceding-candidate countries. Upon completion of the Gymnich proceedings, Venizelos and Ashton will hold a press conference on developments in the foreign and security policy issues.