President Alar Karis President of Estonia.  will participate in the meeting of the Arraiolos group, where he will focus on the global role of the community and neighborhood issues together with the 12 heads of state of the European Union.

"If the European Union wants to maintain a strong global role and protect European security, the member states also need to focus on the countries in our immediate neighborhood - to the east and south. The well-being and strong security of the European Union's neighbors has a direct impact on how the whole of Europe is doing. War, conflicts and dependence on unreliable partners weaken the security of our neighbors and thus the European Union. For this reason, we need to contribute more to the Eastern Partnership, the European integration of the Western Balkans and the Southern Neighborhood. All the countries next to us that want to be close partners to the European Union or to join the community must have the opportunity to do so," said Karis. "This is as important as the economic and energy independence of the countries of the European Union, reliable connections between the member states and the neighbors of the Union."

President Karis will discuss with the heads of state of the 12 member states the security of the eastern and southern neighborhood of the community, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the global role of the European Union. They also talk about the possibilities of the European Union in reducing global inequality, for example on topics related to health care and vaccination, education and mobility, and more broadly, the environment and standard of living.

The Estonian head of state is also scheduled to have separate meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová. Both heads of state discuss bilateral relations, European security, continued support for Ukraine and pressure on Russia to end the war.

Sirje Karis, the wife of the head of state, participates in the program for the spouses of the presidents.

This year's 17th meeting of Arraiolos Group will be attended by the presidents of Estonia, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.