On 16 September, Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis and Foreign Minister Aivis Ronis are taking part in the European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium.

At the European Council, the heads of state and government are expected to discuss the enhancement of the EU's global role and further relations with the Union's strategic partners, as well as interinstitutional co-operation between the EU and NATO.  The European Union has established strategic partnership with Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, Russian Federation, South Korea, and the US.

The European Council is expected also in future to hold strategic discussions on key issues in foreign policy in the run-up to a number of important EU summits with third countries: the European Council in October is to discuss the G20 Summit to be held on 11 October in Seoul, and also the next high-level UN climate change meeting in Cancun, Mexico, scheduled for 2010. December's Council is due to discuss Western Balkans, but the European Council's extraordinary meeting to be held on 11 February 2011 will review energy matters.

In the focus of attention of the heads of state and government is also the strengthening of economic governance and the interim report by the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy on the work of the Task Force on economic governance that he chairs. The Task Force was established by the European Council in March this year.

Foreign Affairs Ministers, for their part, will discuss the situation in Pakistan in the wake of devastating floods which have caused damage to the country's infrastructure and indirectly undermined the security situation. During their separate meeting, the ministers will also discuss preparations for the UN General Assembly 65th session next week in New York, US, when the foreign ministers of the EU Members States and Russia are to meet, and a meeting has been scheduled between EU member States and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The position of Latvia on the draft conclusions of the European Council was approved at the Cabinet meeting on 14 September.