Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva confirmed, Tuesday, that the relationship between the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States had made “very important progress” during the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The minister referred to “four key areas” in the external dimension of Portugal’s presidency of the European Union “The necessary and potential triangulation between the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States of America”He stressed that there are “very important developments”.
Santos Silva, who spoke at the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Portuguese Communities, in the Assembly of the Republic, admitted that “Some of these developments are the result of facts external to the Portuguese presidency.”, As the administration of US President Joe Biden, and “its change in the relationship with Europe.”
But he added that “there are other facts that have a direct impact on the exercise of the presidency” of the Council of the European Union, namely “managing the exit of the United Kingdom” from the bloc of society.
It has been verified that this exit has been issued, and that it was well organized, and it is the responsibility of the presidency of the Council, through a specific working group, which is headed by the Minister of State for European Affairs (Anna Paula Zacharias), to monitor, “the implementation of the exit agreement,” Santos Silva said.
The Portuguese presidency was also able to “persuade the European Parliament to approve the Agreement on Cooperation and Trade”, which was reached in the last days of 2020, which sets the new framework for relations between the two parties in the post-Brexit period.
He stressed that this agreement “is valid because the council presidency immediately strengthened its approval in the council, which means that the tools are indispensable for the absence of a break in the institutional political relationship or in the economic relationship between the European Union and the Kingdom on the ground.”
Concerning the United States, The Portuguese presidency encouraged “as much as it could” for the meetings between the European Union and the US administrationThe official reassured, reminding that US Secretary of State (Anthony Blinken) will participate in the European Union foreign ministers’ meeting in February, and even “new participation” in the foreign ministers ’meeting next Friday,“ this time. ”From the US special envoy on climate, the former foreign minister John Kerry “.
We also consider that this entire process will culminate in June with a summit between the European Union and the United States in Brussels, ”he said.
He pointed out that there is also “another triangle that the Portuguese presidency seeks to appreciate” since he took office last January, which is “to strengthen the old, solid and strong relations between the European Union, Africa and Latin America.”
In this regard, “The Green Investment Forum Was Successful”The minister was considered, referring to the European-African event held on April 23rd on sustainable investment.
It was a success from a thinking standpoint and above all from a business standpoint. He added that contracts worth 350 million euros have been signed between the European Investment Bank and several African countries to develop initiatives in the field of natural resources and to value these resources.
The Indo-Pacific is also another region whose Portuguese presidency has made a “further point of view of the European Union”, particularly with regard to India, the country European leaders met on Saturday, from Porto, after an informal European Council meeting. .
The minister considered that “the meeting of the leaders of the European Union and India that was held in Porto last Saturday was successful in a double sense,” recalling the results obtained from this meeting, which is the re-launch of economic negotiations with that country. As an agreement to a partnership to contact.
