Jean-Yves Le Drian is visiting Rome on July 24 at the invitation of his Italian counterpart, Angelino Alfano, to attend the Italian Ambassadors Conference, whose theme this year will be "Security and growth: challenges for Italy and Europe."

The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs will give a speech to the Italian ambassadors on restarting the European project.

Mr. Le Drian will also meet with his counterpart, continuing the dialogue the two ministers began during their meeting in Rome on July 6. In particular, he will raise the issue of our common desire for the political stabilization of Libya, which is vital for effectively controlling the territory and the Libyan borders for the purpose of combating terrorism and smuggling networks.

Union for the Mediterranean – Meeting between Nathalie Loiseau and Fathallah Sijilmassi (Paris - July 21, 2017)

Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau is meeting today with Fathallah Sijilmassi, the secretary general of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Ms. Loiseau will reiterate our support for the Union for the Mediterranean, the only forum offering both a regional dialogue bringing together all the Mediterranean partners and the development of concrete projects to bring the two shores of the Mediterranean closer together.

Established in 2008 at France's urging, the Union for the Mediterranean has 43 members (28 EU Member States and 15 Mediterranean nations). It has already sponsored 47 regional integration projects in areas as diverse as cleaning up the Mediterranean, sustainable energies, higher education and research, civil protection, sea and land motorways, and support for SMEs.

Slovakia – Meeting between Nathalie Loiseau and Ivan Korčok, Slovak State Secretary for European Affairs (Paris - July 21, 2017)

Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau is hosting her Slovak counterpart, Ivan Korčok, today.

After the President's meeting on June 22 with the leaders of the Visegrad countries (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic), this meeting will provide an opportunity to review European issues: the revision of the directive on the posting of workers, asylum and migration, European defense.

They will also discuss the restart of the European project. It was under the Slovak presidency of the Council of Ministers, in the second half of 2016, that the Bratislava Roadmap was adopted on the future of the 27-nation European Union.

UN / Counterterrorism – Adoption of Security Council resolution 2368 (New York - July 20, 2017)

France welcomes the unanimous adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2368. This resolution represents one more step forward in the international community's fight against terrorism. It supplements resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning Daesh, al-Qaeda, and individuals, groups, businesses, and entities associated with them.

It makes it possible to update the sanctions regime by reaffirming the need to freeze assets, impose travel bans and arms embargos. It also defines the criteria for inclusion on the list of people and entities associated with these terrorist organizations, and underscores the importance of fighting money laundering, the financing of terrorism and proliferation The international community's efforts against Daesh are bearing fruit. On the ground, the terrorist organization has suffered major defeats in Iraq and Syria. Iraqi forces in Mosul are close to victory. The battle for Raqqa is also continuing.

In the face of the terrorist threat, which remains complex and multifaceted, we must continuing to mobilize our efforts in several areas: combating propaganda and radicalization on the Internet, drying up the sources of financing of terrorist groups, preparing for the return of foreign terrorist combatants.

Ukraine – Situation in the east of the country

We condemn the violence observed in recent days in eastern Ukraine that, according to an official report, killed 11 Ukrainian army troops. We also condemn the air raids that targeted the urban areas of Avdiivka and Krasnohorivka, in the Donetsk region, once again imposing a heavy toll on civilian populations.

These numbers come in addition to the more than 30 dead in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the month, and more than 40 last month.

It is urgent to make immediate progress on the security front. That is why we and Germany, within the Normandy format, continue to urge the full implementation of the Minsk Agreement.

United Kingdom

What is the status of the French-British project to build a combat drone? More generally, might Brexit and the French-German rapprochement on defense projects have an impact on the Lancaster House Agreement?

With respect to defense, French-British cooperation is particularly close, both on the operational and capacity fronts. This cooperation will not be undermined by Brexit because it is mainly bilateral, because of the political and strategic convergences between our two countries, which remain unchanged, and because of the strong integration of our industries.

Furthermore, the arms programs of the future were launched by France and the United Kingdom, including the Future Air Combat System (FCAS) involving Dassault and BAE Systems.

The meeting of the High Level Working Group last December helped us identify benchmarks that could lead to contracts for the demonstration phase of the FCAS combat drone. An agreement was signed on that occasion to begin an additional 12-month study phase.

As a reminder, the High Level Working Group is the governing body for French-British arms cooperation. It was created by the 2010 Lancaster House Treaty which establishes exceptionally intense cooperation between France and the United Kingdom on defense.

With Germany, there is a strong political will to strengthen our defense cooperation within the European framework, but also in a bilateral context. This was reaffirmed at the highest level at the Franco-German Defense and Security Council on July 13.

Cooperation in both cases is complementary.

Economic diplomacy

With respect to foreign trade, what "practical" reforms are you considering in order to "correct tangible things"and do you have a timetable for clarifying these proposals?

As the minister underscored in his interview to the daily newspaper Les Echos, in order to foster an export culture and help French export firms, of which there are still too few, especially in comparison with our European competitors (125,000 compared with twice as many in Italy and three times as many in Germany), we need simplicity in order to be more effective.

The minister believes that this means simplifying export support mechanisms both in France, where firms should be able to benefit from a one-stop support center in regional areas, as well as abroad where embassies should coordinate the work of export operators.

The minister will receive the regional chairs together with Philippe Richert, Chairman of the Association of French Regions, in September in order to develop a collaborative approach between the government and the regions in this field.

In September, he will also receive the coordinators of the seven priority export sectors (health, the agri-food sector, the tourism industry, cultural and creative industries, sustainable cities, emerging technologies and renewable energy) which were established by his predecessors in order to assess what adjustments are needed to make their efforts, which should be in line with the professional associations, more effective. The minster indicated we should not rule out the addition of new sectors. Indeed, this approach which is based on sectors of excellence has won the favor of export stakeholders because it helps identify the domestic obstacles that are hampering the export goals of firms and makes it possible to remedy these problems. It brings together firms operating in complementary areas so that they can tackle export markets together, perhaps even compete for bundled contracts, and it encourages large groups to sponsor SMEs.

Lastly, the minister is also keen to ensure that the public mechanism to support the internationalization of companies remains accessible to SMEs and that the use of the Volunteers for International Experience (VIE) program, which has proven to be effective, is further expanded. These guidelines will be given to the new Directorate-General of Business France which should soon be established and which should implement the reforms put forward by the minister.

Export of war material

Is it the minister for the armed forces or the minister of foreign affairs who steers and fine-tunes the strategy for the export and sale of arms abroad?

The current rules relating to the export of arms are available on the France diplomatie website: http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/politique-etrangere-de-la-france/desarmement-et-non-proliferation/la-france-et-le-controle-des-exportations-sensibles/article/controle-des-exportations-de-materiels-de-guerre.

Jerusalem

Are you concerned that the situation in the Esplanade of the Mosques could escalate?

In the press briefing on July 19, we reaffirmed France's concern at the tensions in Jerusalem and especially around the Esplanade of the Mosques, where the situation has deteriorated over the last few days.

We call on all parties to refrain from any act or statement that could exacerbate tensions and to work toward easing the situation. Any attempt at calling the status quo into question could threaten to destabilize the situation.

Libya

What are you expecting from the meeting with Khalifa Haftar and Fayez Serraj next week in Paris?

I do not have any comment to make on this topic.

Turkey

Do you support Germany's tough response toward Turkey?

We share the same concerns as Germany regarding developments in the human rights situation in Turkey. This has been aggravated by the recent arrest of Taner Kilic, Chair of the Board of Directors of Amnesty International in Turkey, along with 22 other lawyers, on June 10, and of Idil Eser, Director of Amnesty International's Turkey office, on July 6, along with seven other persons, including Swedish and German nationals.

France calls for the release of the representatives of Amnesty International and human rights defenders who have been arrested.

We call on the Turkish authorities to comply with their European and international commitments concerning human rights and fundamental freedoms.

China

The minister stated on July 17 that he would like the Chinese authorities to guarantee the freedom of movement of Liu Xiaobo's wife, family and friends. Will France make representations to China following this statement?

France has been in regular contact over the last few weeks with the Chinese authorities regarding the situation of Liu Xia. It has reaffirmed its wish to see that the freedom of movement of Liu Xia and her family and friends is guaranteed.