EU Council of Ministers to discuss development policy, including Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)s and Financial Perspectives.
Monday and Tuesdays EU Council focuses on defence, development and international policy issues
A particularly full agenda awaits the EU Foreign Ministers who are to meet on Monday and Tuesday (22 and 23 November) at the General Affairs and External Relations Council, under the chairmanship of their Dutch colleague, Bernard Bot.
The Twenty-Five will spend a large part of Monday with their defence colleagues discussing progress made with regard to European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), among other issues.
Monday afternoon will essentially focus on international issues (Middle East, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, Belarus, Sudan, Somalia, etc.) as well as preparation of the European Council of December and the 2007-2013 financial perspectives.
On Tuesday, Foreign Ministers will be joined by their colleagues responsible for cooperation and development policy, mainly for discussions on the EUs contribution with a view to UN review of the Millennium Development Goals. Points on the agenda (except for “defence”) are:
Preparation of the European Council of 16/17 December. Ministers will hold a first exchange of views on the annotated European Council agenda which – depending on the current state of preparations by the Dutch Presidency – will focus on the following issues:
a) enlargement. The Twenty-Five should decide to open accession talks with Turkey and Croatia, and conclude talks with Bulgaria and Romania;
b) counter-terrorism. The European Council will take stock of progress in the implementation and revision of the counter-terrorist action plan;
c) preparation of financial perspectives (2007-2013). The European Council should approve a report on progress made in talks on this subject since June this year, and also approve the principles and guidelines on the basis of which a final agreement on the multiannual budgetary framework should be found later in 2006;
d) area of freedom, security and justice. The Twenty-Five must note Council adoption of the new EU anti-drug strategy for the period 2005-2012 and approve its main lines of action. The European Council should also invite the Commission to make proposals in 2005 for the practical implementation of the strategy; e) and international policy issues (Middle East, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, etc.).
Preparation of the 2007-2013 financial perspectives. The Council will continue its debate on the basis of a new progress report prepared by the Dutch Presidency. Ministers will also hold an exchange of views on the recent Commission proposals on funding EU external policies.
Improving the efficiency of the EUs external aid.
Ministers will hold another orientation debate on this, following the one of last January, when the Council called upon the Commission to make proposals to extend the use of objective and transparent criteria to country allocations of aid. The Commission made proposals on the basis of which the Member States drew up draft conclusions to be discussed and adopted at Mondays Council.
Middle East.
In light of major developments in recent days- particularly the death of Yasser Arafat and the transition of power underway in the Palestinian Authority- Ministers will discuss the situation in the Middle East and prospects of relaunching the peace process. In this context, the Council will also return to the implementation of short-term actions proposed by High Representative Javier Solana and approved by the European Council of 5 November. Mr Solana will also report back to Ministers on his contacts with the new Palestinian leadership, after the funeral of President Arafat in Ramallah. Conclusions will be approved.
Iran.
In light of the agreement reached on 15 November between Teheran and the “EU-3” (France, Germany, UK), the Council will once again discuss Irans nuclear programme and the prospects for EU/Iran negotiations to start again on the trade and cooperation agreement, once the suspension of enrichment activities, confirmed in the agreement, has been verified.
China.
The Council will examine the preparations for the Summit of 8 December.
Development.
Questions on development aid will be treated by relevant ministers on Tuesday with, for the first time at his new post, Commissioner Louis Michel.
Millennium Goals. The Council will tackle this subject from three angles:
1) It will note the state of progress made in preparations concerning the EUs contribution to the UN 2005 examination of progress accomplished toward achieving the Millennium Goals (to reduce poverty in the world by half by 2015). Its conclusions, fuelled by a policy debate and a summary report by the Commission on how the Member States have performed, should call on the EU to play a leading political role and welcome the Commissions intention to make ambitious proposals for increasing Official Development Aid (ODA), with consistent development policies and aid to Africa.
2) It will adopt conclusions on mid-term review of the Cairo Agenda (the name of the conference on population and development organised by the UN in 1994), which will underline the importance of implementing the Cairo action plan for combating poverty, while paying appropriate attention to sexual and reproductive health rights.
3) It will adopt conclusions on EU actions for combating three transmissible diseases known as poverty diseases – HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. These conclusions will invite the Commission and the Member States to actively prepare the conference on replenishing the World Fund for Health, foreseen in 2005, and will call on the Commission to present a global action plan to the Council by April 2005.
Financing development cooperation.
The Council will note a report by working groups that prepares the EUs contribution to following up commitments taken to increase the level of official development aid (Monterrey and Barcelona process) and will adopt conclusions with a view to the high level forum on aid efficiency (Paris, 2005).
Effectiveness of EU external action (follow-up to reform undertaken by the Commission in 2000):
the Council will adopt conclusions on the annual report 2004 by the Commission concerning development policy and the implementation of external aid. It will welcome progress made in terms of increased delivery speed and will suggest that the 2005 report focus more on:
– more effective integration of development activities in the ten new Member States; progress made in coordination, complementarity and coherence of EU and Member State policies;
– and the impact of questions concerning gender equality, childrens rights, as well as sustainable development in Commission programmes.
Sophie Peresson European Advocacy Manager, Marie Stopes International, Rue Montoyer 39, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: 0032 2 551 54 53. Fax: 0032 2 551 54 59. website: www.mariestopes.org.uk
