Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union of 12 July: conclusions
On Monday 12 July, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sophie Wilmès, and her European counterparts met in Brussels for the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting.
Meeting with Yair Lapid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel
In the afternoon, the EU Foreign Ministers also had an exchange of views with their new Israeli counterpart, Mr Yair Lapid, who was on his first…
Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union of 21 June: conclusions
On Monday 21 June, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sophie Wilmès, met her European counterparts in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for a Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting. The Council was preceded by a working meeting with Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. During the Council, the ministers had the opportunity to discuss developments in Belarus at…
Plenary meeting on Thursday 20 May 2021: verbal questions
Verbal questions about the Israel/Palestine conflict
Only the spoken word shall count
Dear Members of Parliament,
I would like to thank you for your numerous questions regarding the dramatic developments in the Middle East. A situation that has touched everybody.
Our thoughts are with all the innocent civilian victims and their families and the populations who are currently living in anxiety and…
Informal Council of the Ministers of European Affairs of 17 May: conclusions
Today, Monday 17 May, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès and her fellow ministers met at the invitation of the Portuguese presidency in Coimbra, Portugal, for an informal meeting of the Council of European Affairs. The meeting took the theme of the Future, with the first meeting of the “Ministers for the Future” on the strategic autonomy and resilience of the…
10th anniversary of The Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe
Today, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe. This Convention sets the highest international standards for the prevention of violence against women.
It’s a major human rights treaty, establishing comprehensive legal standards to ensure women’s rights to be free from violence.
It’s also a success story: as of today, 34 States ratified it. Among them,…
Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union of 10 May: conclusions
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sophie Wilmès, attended the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) in Brussels on Monday 10 May. The European ministers discussed in detail the situation in the Western Balkans and the state of transatlantic relations, before holding a videoconference meeting with the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. The Deputy Prime Minister also…
Council of the European Foreign Affairs Ministers of 19 April: conclusions
During their videoconference meeting on Monday 19 April, the EU Foreign Ministers discussed in detail the situation in Ethiopia and that in Ukraine, with an informal exchange of views with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba. During the review of current European foreign policy issues, the ministers focused on China, Iran and Russia. Additional sanctions have been adopted against two…
Belgium announces €18 million in humanitarian aid for Syria
On the occasion of the fifth Brussels Conference on Syria (‘Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region’), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sophie Wilmès and Minister of Development Cooperation Meryame Kitir announced today 18 million euro in additional humanitarian aid for the Syrian people. They stressed that a permanent solution to the conflict is only…
International Holocaust Rememberance Day 2021
This speech was delivered on the occasion of the virtual ceremony organised by the European Jewish Association on 27 January 2021.
Today we commemorate the memory of almost 6 million Jewish men, women and children killed together with other victims of Nazi cruelty during World War II in an unprecedented genocide.
Among these victims, more than 25,000 were gathered at the Dossin Barracks in…
Response to parliamentary questions on COVID-19 and on preparations for a second wave
Check against delivery
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
The improvement we’ve seen in the health situation in recent weeks isn’t a given, as shown by the reproduction number, which has risen above 1 again.
One of the questions was about daily figures. I share your opinion entirely. I share your opinion, and we’ve asked [the Belgian federal public health institute] Sciensano to start…