The Polish Secretary of State Mikołaj Dowgielewicz and his counterparts Pierre Lellouche, the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, and Werner Hoyer, the German Minister of State for European Affairs, discussed the economic situation in the European Union, the cooperation on energy and climate change, the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy, the creation of the European External Action Service and the EU's Eastern Partnership.

On the subject of the economic situation in the EU, the ministers stressed the importance of the new ‘2020 Economic Strategy for the European Union’. The ministers discussed the current economic situation, and the necessity of finding common solutions to the economic crisis. They underlined the importance of finding effective mechanisms of strategy’s governance to carry out structural reforms and put Europe back on growth path.

The ministers discussed the plan of action for the 2010-2014 energy policy of the EU and declared their willingness to cooperate in the area of energy security. The ministers were also exchanging views on the Eastern Partnership, as well as Common Security and Defence Policy. The ministers agreed to work on a common agenda for the future development of the security and defence policy under the Lisbon Treaty, in order to strengthen the defence of Europe, transatlantic security and international stability.

The cooperation between civil societies of the Weimar Triangle countries was also examined during the meeting. The ministers agreed that common cultural, research and education projects, as well as youth exchanges, are beneficial to the Weimar Triangle cooperation and should be enhanced and supported. They discussed practical steps towards these objectives.

The Weimar Triangle cooperation between ministers for Europe was launched in November 2008 in Paris. After today’s meeting the ministers admitted that this formula of consultation has the potential to become a natural forum for exchanging views on the European agenda, and will play an important role in the preparations for the Polish Presidency of the European Union.

Piotr Paszkowski
Press Spokesman

See also:

• PHOTO GALLERY - The Weimar Triangle meeting of the ministers for European Affairs
• Photos at the MFA's Flickr photostream