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22 Jun, 2021

ALDE General Affairs Ministers meet for the first time

The ALDE Party and Renew Europe group hosted the first-ever meeting of liberal ministers of General Affairs ahead of the council meeting on 22 June. During the meeting, the Ministers exchanged views with Renew Europe MEPs. The meeting was chaired by Renew Europe First Vice-President Malik Azmani MEP (VVD, Netherlands)

The Ministers discussed and shared views on the items on the Council agenda, with a specific focus on the rule of law and the state of play of the legal infringement procedures against Hungary and Poland.

Following the GAC Council meeting, 14 EU Member States*, at the initiative of Belgian liberal Minister Sophie Wilmès, adopted a joint statement condemning “the adoption by the Hungarian Parliament of amendments which discriminate against LGBTIQ persons and violate the right to freedom of expression under the pretext of protecting children” and urging “the European Commission as Guardian of the Treaties to use all the tools at its disposal to ensure full respect for EU law, including by referring the matter to the ECJ”. Full statement available here

List of participants:

  • Sophie Wilmès, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade (MR, Belgium)
  • Clément Beaune, Minister of State for European Affairs (LREM, France)
  • Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European Affairs (Fianna Fàil, Ireland)
  • Sigrid Kaag, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (D66, Netherlands)
  • Malik Azmani MEP, Renew Europe First Vice-President (VVD, Netherlands)
  • Katalin Cseh MEP, Renew Europe Vice-President (Momentum, Hungary)
  • Sophie In’t Veld MEP (D66, Netherlands)

* Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Latvia

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