On 15-16 October, President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs attended the meeting of the Arraiolos Group in Brdo pri Kranju, Republic of Slovenia. The Arraiolos Group is an informal meeting of Presidents of European Union (EU) member states. During the meeting, attended by 12 heads of the EU member states, leaders discussed strategic priorities of the EU, ways to strengthen security and foster competitiveness.
President of Latvia underlined that security and defence of the EU should be the key priority in an ever more complex, globalised world. "European Union must invest more in security and defence. To enhance the efficiency of its response to growing security challenges, especially ones posed by Russia, European Union needs to boost its defence capabilities, defence industry and security agencies," Edgars Rinkēvičs said. The security of the EU is closely linked with the security of Ukraine, President also emphasised. That is why continued support to Ukraine, across all areas, is essential, especially during the autumn and spring period when Russia is expected to intensify its attacks on Ukraine’s civilian and energy infrastructure.
President of Latvia also indicated that EU’s competitiveness is a strategic security matter. According to Edgars Rinkēvičs, EU must invest in development of technologies and artificial intelligence while also avoiding overregulation, balancing protection of citizens’ rights and capacity of European companies to develop and be globally competitive.
President Rinkēvičs confirmed Latvia’s commitment to support European integration of Ukraine, Moldova and Western Balkans. Enlargement of the Union is a matter of credibility, he stressed, noting that accession of new member states may require political reforms within the EU.
