Portugal – Visit by Laurence Boone (June 15-16, 2023)

Laurence Boone, Minister of State for Europe, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will be in Portugal on June 15 and 16 for a trilateral meeting with her Portuguese and Spanish counterparts, Tiago Antunes and Pascual Navarro Ríos.

They will discuss preparations for the Spanish presidency of the European Union Council, the strengthening of EU strategic autonomy, particularly its economic, industrial and digital aspects, and support for Ukraine in Russia’s war of aggression.

The three ministers will also address the challenges related to EU enlargement and institutional reforms, progress on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and economic governance. They will visit the European Maritime Safety Agency, which is located in the Portuguese capital, and will speak with its executive director, Maja Markovčić Kostelac.

During her visit, Ms. Boone will tour a plant that designs and assembles electrolyzers– an industry that is essential to European energy sovereignty and decarbonization – which is backed by French and European stakeholders.

Ukraine – Condemnation of Russian airstrikes against Ukraine (June 14, 2023)

France utterly condemns the latest wave of Russian missile strikes that targeted several Ukrainian regions.

These strikes once again deliberately targeted civilian infrastructures and residential buildings in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. They resulted in a number of casualties, particularly in the city of Odesa and in the Sumy area, where nine people lost their lives, according to initial estimates by Ukrainian authorities.

As Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, has repeatedly stressed, these unacceptable acts constitute war crimes and cannot go unpunished. France will continue to lend support to the Ukrainian courts and the International Criminal Court to combat impunity for such crimes.