EU foreign ministers will gather in Limassol today for the informal Gymnich summit, with the war in Ukraine, developments in the Middle East and the preparation of a new European Security Strategy topping the agenda.
Cyprus Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos is hosting the two-day meeting and co-chairing it alongside EU High Representative Kaja Kallas. The talks run until May 28.
The Gymnich is the biannual informal meeting of EU foreign ministers held under the rotating Council Presidency. It takes its name from a castle in Germany where the first such meeting was held during the German EU Council Presidency in 1974. Ministers attend without assistants, which is intended to encourage franker exchanges. The meetings are decision-free, serving as a consultation platform for developing common views and strategies rather than adopting formal conclusions.
At Kombos’s initiative, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah Al Saud are also attending. Saudi Arabia has a central role in current Middle East developments, while India is closely tied to issues of maritime security, supply chains and geoeconomic initiatives including the IMEC corridor — the planned India-Middle East-Europe trade and infrastructure route. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is attending the welcome dinner on Wednesday evening.
The preparation of a new European Security Strategy is among the most substantive items on the agenda. The informal Gymnich format is seen as particularly suited to the kind of strategic discussion such an initiative requires.
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