The President of the European Council, António Costa will be in France to attend the SOS Ocean! conference in Paris on 31 March, before going to Strasbourg for the plenary session of the European Parliament on 1 April. The President will then travel to Samarkand to represent the EU, together with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at the first ever EU-Central Asia summit on 4 April.
Speaking ahead of the summit in Samarkand, President António Costa said:
| “In today’s multipolar world, the EU wants to increase engagement with international partners. The first ever EU-Central Asia summit is a strong signal in this direction and a milestone in our efforts to enhance our collaboration with the countries of the region.” |
| — António Costa, President of the European Council |
On 31 March, President Costa will attend the SOS Ocean! conference held in Paris. The conference will gather leaders, scientists and ocean defenders from all over the world to discuss an ambitious action plan to tackle major challenges linked with oceans and prepare the 3rd UN Ocean Conference that will take place next June in Nice. For the first time at the European Council on 20 March, EU leaders adopted conclusions stressing the strategic importance of oceans to the EU’s competitiveness, maritime security, and environmental sustainability.
On Tuesday, 1 April, President Costa will be at the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, to report on the European Council of 20 March. He will outline the main outcomes of the European Council, including on Ukraine, European defence, competitiveness, and multilateralism.
Two days later, the President will be in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to represent the European Union, together with the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, at the EU-Central Asia summit. This will be the first ever summit at leaders’ level between the EU and the five Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The intensification of high-level relations between the EU and Central Asia in recent years has highlighted the growing importance of the region for the EU. Next week’s summit will focus on strengthening and deepening bilateral and regional cooperation.
Discussions will be geared towards making progress on several issues of shared interest, notably multilateralism, common security challenges, trade and investment ties, engagements under the Global Gateway, and people-to-people contacts.