European leaders gathered in Brussels on September 1, 2008, to participate in an extraordinary Council meeting to discuss how to respond to Russian military action against Georgia. They agreed to postpone talks on the EU-Russia strategic partnership until Russian troops withdraw to the positions they held before August 7, 2008. They also decided that Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic and acting President of the EU Council, along with José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, and Javier Solana, Secretary General of the EU Council and High Representative for CFSP, would visit Moscow on September 8, 2008, to continue discussions aimed at fully implementing the six-point peace agreement. The Council denounced the “disproportionate” Russian action and the “unacceptable” recognition by the Kremlin of the two breakaway provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. At the same time, European leaders decided to strengthen the EU’s relationship with Georgia by accelerating changes to visa requirements and the possible creation of a free trade zone.
Extraordinary European Council on Georgia Following Russia’s Military Action
1/9/2008
Javier Solana, Secretary General of the Council of the European Union and High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic and acting President of the EU Council, and José Manuel Barroso (from left to right).
