Today: Informal Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Hluboká Castle

Known as Gymnich after the German castle where it was held for the first time in 1974, the informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs will take place in Hluboká nad Vltavou, in the south of Bohemia.

The meeting will be launched on Friday 27 March at a working lunch in the castle library. The aim of Gymnich has always been to offer an informal platform for a thorough discussion of several current or sensitive issues. On Friday, the ministers will address the situation in the Middle East, the ESDP civilian mission and Belarus. On Saturday, they will discuss the situation in the Western Balkans together with ministers from the candidate countries, i.e. Croatia, Turkey and FYROM, and from the countries of the Western Balkans.

Traditionally, Gymnich offers an informal private programme for ministers and their spouses. This time, the programme will consist of a dinner and a concert by the well-known Czech opera singer Dagmar Pecková, right at Hluboká Castle