News from Berlin

German State Minister Roth Visits Latvia and Estonia

July 10th, 2014
State Minister Roth.jpg

News from Berlin - State Minister Michael Roth has just returned from two-day visit to the capitals of Latvia and Estonia. In Riga he met the Latvian Foreign Minister Rinkēvičs. During the meeting on July 8, Roth highlighted the constructive role of the Baltic country within the EU.  Afterwards he was also invited to open the second day of the German-Nordic-Baltic Forum along with Latvian State Secretary Andrejs Ildegovičs.

The German-Nordic-Baltic Forum was first held in Brussels in 2008 and is an important discussion forum between Germany, the Baltic States and the Nordic EU-member states. The sixth forum took place in Riga on July 7th and 8th with the title: "Upgrading the German-Nordic-Baltic Partnership in the EU: Common Values, Mutual Interests and New Challenges".

After his visit to Latvia, Roth continued his journey to the Estonian capital Tallin, where he participated in political discussions with Estonian Foreign Minister Paet and he was also invited to hold a speech at the Estonian Institute for Foreign Affairs.

The theme of Roth's speech was: "Germany and Estonia – Common Challenges, Shared Values". The talk aimed at a further strengthening of the economic and monetary union, an improvement of the social solidarity within Europe and at the decisive advocacy of the European fundamental values.

Following the event, Roth stressed the importance of having a united voice within Europe. Roth pointed out the experience of the Baltic States concerning this issue. He further emphasised that Europe and Germany want to learn from the Ukrainian crisis together and in order to do that, the European Neighbourhood Policy needs to be strengthened and improved.

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