Lithuania – Visit by Catherine Colonna (Mar. 29-30, 2023)

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna will be traveling to Lithuania from March 29-30.

The Minister will be welcomed by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyté and will meet with her counterpart, Gabrielius Landsbergis. These conversations will all focus on the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and our lasting support for Ukraine, in particular, our military support, following on the agreement reached during the March 20th Foreign Affairs Council meeting on the joint procurement and urgent delivery of ammunition and missiles in support of the Ukrainian army.

The Minister will address the preparations being made for the NATO Summit that will take place in Vilnius next July and, in particular, support for Sweden and Finland’s accession to the Alliance. She will speak with her interlocutors about the reinforcement of NATO’s posture on the eastern flank, which benefits from France’s active participation in Lithuania, as well as in Estonia and Romania. The Minister will travel to the Šiauliai military base, where she will meet with the members of the French Air Force who are stationed in Lithuania and work with the four Rafale fighter jets that have been deployed there.

During these meetings, Catherine Colonna will also discuss our bilateral cooperation on security and defense matters and economic issues, as well as cultural topics, in the lead-up to the 2024 Lithuanian cultural season in France.

Lastly, during her visit, the Minister will meet with representative of the Belarusian democratic opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has been in exile in Lithuania since the fraudulent Belarusian presidential election took place in August 2020.

United States – Visit by Laurence Boone (Mar. 27-29, 2023)

Laurence Boone, Minister of State for Europe, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will be traveling to New York and Washington in the United States of America from March 27-29.

This visit will be dedicated to defending European sovereignty as well as Europe’s response to the climate transition and digital transition aspects of industrial, energy and trade policy.

In New York, the Minister of State will give a speech at New York University (NYU) on Europe’s economic approach to the climate transition. She will meet with representatives from the European-American Chamber of Commerce to discuss the European industrial, energy and trade policy issues that are at the heart of the legislation proposed by the European Commission (the Net-Zero Industry Act, the electricity market reform and the European Critical Raw Materials Act).

In Washington, Laurence Boone will speak before the members of the Congressional European Union Caucus and will meet with senators working on European issues. She will meet with State Department and Commerce Department representatives to discuss European sovereignty and the EU’s Green Deal Industrial Plan. She will also have a conversation on these same issues with International Monetary Fund First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath. Lastly, Laurence Boone will give a talk at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Israel – Political Situation (Mar. 27, 2023)

France is following the news on the plans to overhaul the judiciary in Israel with great concern. We reaffirm our deep commitment to the democratic principles that constitute the basis of the friendship between our two countries.

France calls on the Israeli political leaders to refrain from any actions or statements that are likely to worsen the crisis.

We have shared this message with Ambassador Haim Waxman, the Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., at the Israeli Embassy in France, who attended a meeting at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs last Friday.