Informal Ministerial Meeting of the General Affairs Council

Date: 8.1.2009 — 8.1.2009
Venue: Prague - Czech Republic
Category: Informal Ministerial Meetings
Theme: General Affairs and External Relations

The very first of the 14 informal meetings of ministers that are planned during the Czech Presidency took place in Prague.

The General Affairs Council (GAC) led by the Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, Alexandr Vondra, discussed the question of energy security in the light of the current situation, transatlantic relations and institutional issues.

The participants in the meeting were primarily the ministers for European affairs and foreign ministers of the Member States.

On the eve of the meeting of the General Affairs Council, the gala opening of the Czech Presidency took place at the National Theatre, with the participation of Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and President of the European Commission José Barroso. The informal meeting was closed by a reception hosted by Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexandr Vondra in Lobkowiczký palác (Lobkowicz Palace).

Recording including english interpretation can be found in audio archive.
You can find a video recording of press conferences in english on the website of CT24 Television.
Photographs from the events can be found here.