?Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic (L) and his Latvian counterpart Raimonds Vejonis (C) pose for photos ahead of the summit of the presidents of 13 European Union member states in Rundale, Latvia, Sept. 13, 2018. A two-day summit of the presidents of 13 European Union member states, who form the so-called Arraiolos group, kicked off in Latvia on Thursday. (Xinhua/Janis)
RIGA, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- A two-day summit of the presidents of 13 European Union member states, who form the so-called Arraloios group, kicked off in Latvia on Thursday.
The presidents of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia have discussions on the future of Europe on their agenda, the Latvian president's office said.
The venue of the first day of the summit is the 18th-century Rundale palace, about 80 kilometers form the Latvian capital Riga. The first working session "Building Societal Resilience: From Hard to Soft Security" will be devoted to the modern security challenges and the necessary national responses. The first day will end with a gala dinner hosted by the president of Latvia Raimonds Vejonis.
On the second day the presidents will meet at the Riga Castle, the official residence of the president of Latvia. The second working session "Europe After 100 Before" will focus on the future of the European Union and the role of citizens in shaping the future of Europe.
The members of the informal Arraloios Group are the presidents of those EU states where presidents have no executive power.??
