During the traditional annual meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Baltic States and the Benelux Countries (3+3), Ministers deliberated on the way ahead for the Eastern Partnership summit to be held in Vilnius in November 2013, wishing to make this summit a success. They reiterated their commitment to the ambitious agenda promoted by the Eastern Partnership. They also discussed topical issues of the European agenda, including the future of the European Union, as well as some of the current pressing issues on the international agenda such as Syria, the Middle East Peace Process and Egypt.

The Ministers also met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova Natalia Gherman and welcomed Moldova’s so far successful implementation of the necessary internal reforms. They also expressed their continuous support to Moldova’s strong commitment to political association and economic integration with the European Union and reaffirmed their readiness to jointly support Moldova towards this goal.

Ministers reiterated also the usefulness of the high level meeting in the 3+3 format that gives an excellent opportunity to have an informal exchange of views on issues of common interest.