AUSTRIA, January 15 - Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg travelled to Paris today, 16 January 2023, where he met with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and took part in the “Youth & Leaders Summit” at Sciences Po university. Other items on the agenda included a working meeting with Fatih Birol – Executive Director of the foreign policy committee of the Assemblée Nationale – and a meeting with members of the Austrian-French Centre and the Institut français des relations internationales.

The first bilateral meeting between Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Catherine Colonna since they took office last year focussed not only on bilateral issues, but primarily also on the effects of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and Europe’s geopolitical position. It was important, the foreign ministers said, to consider what a solution at the negotiating table might look like – the European security architecture will need to involve Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear power, in one way or another. The OSCE plays an important role in that regard as one of the few remaining platforms where Russian and Western diplomats come face to face. Another important goal for the EU’s geopolitical positioning is to take a stronger, more independent stance.

The EU needs to significantly strengthen its strategic autonomy in the coming years – in the area of security and defence in view of the Russian war of aggression and other conflict spots in the EU’s immediate neighbourhood as well as in the area of the economy to maintain the EU’s competitiveness,

said Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, agreeing with his French counterpart.

During the “Youth & Leaders Summit” at the Paris School of International Affairs, part of the prestigious political science university Sciences Po, the Foreign Minister spoke about the European security architecture following the Russian war of aggression, and the contributions that the younger generation can make. Afterwards, he discussed nuclear non-proliferation, among other issues, with experts and students. In the afternoon, an informal meeting with students from the university, including several from Austria, took place.

Our greatest challenges for 2023 and the coming years will be preserving our unity on the one hand – because if we are divided, we have already lost – and keeping a sense of proportion on the other. We will need to maintain platforms like the OSCE, which were created for very good reasons in the last few decades. Our actions today will determine the status of the free world in the coming years,

Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told the students.

During their working meeting, Foreign Minister Schallenberg and Executive Director of the International Energy Agency Fatih Briol addressed pathways out of the energy crisis. With great effort, a gas crisis was averted. However, Austria and the entire EU are facing a difficult situation that must likewise be resolved in collaboration with the IEA.

The search for common solutions was also a focus of his discussion with members of the foreign policy committee of the Assemblée Nationale. Especially in the areas of migration and EU enlargement, Austria and France could further strengthen their collaboration.