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Foreign Affairs Council
The Foreign Affairs Council is made up of European Union Member State Ministers responsible for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development.
The use of force must always abide by international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, and this fully applies to autonomous weapons systems. States – and human beings – remain responsible and accountable for their behaviour in an armed conflict, even if it involves the use of autonomous weapons.
How governments should manage the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure we harness the opportunities while also addressing the threats of the digital era is one of the major strands of open debate the EU has initiated together with tech leaders.
As the EU beefs up its military and defence capacities, EU ministers of foreign affairs on 28 May endorsed a package of measures to in parallel further strengthen the Union's civilian security capabilities. This reflects the EU's commitment to an integrated approach to security, combining civilian and military tools for effective conflict prevention and crisis response.
The EU 28 Ministers expressed full unity on keeping the Iran nuclear deal in place as long as Iran stays committed to it, said High Representative Federica Mogherini following the Foreign Affairs Council where ideas and concrete measures have been discussed.
The High Representative and EU Foreign ministers discussed the situation in Syria at the beginning of their meeting. The Council held a debate on Venezuela and on Moldova. Foreign ministers had a discussion on the Middle Peace Process with foreign ministers, members of the LAS ministerial delegation on Jerusalem chaired by Jordan (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, the Palestinian Authority).
The EU's foreign affairs ministers today called for strengthening global ambition to tackle climate change and restated the EU's commitment to lead the way in 2018, a crucial year for ensuring the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
