Brussels, 22/07/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 July, at the General Affairs Council, foreign ministers will hold a debate on preparation for the extraordinary European Council that Herman Van Rompuy has convened for 16 September. There are two items on the agenda of this summit. Firstly, relations with the “strategic partners” in the world. The leaders' debate will (exceptionally) be attended by foreign ministers and the high representative for foreign affairs, Catherine Ashton. The permanent president of the European Council considers that the EU must target its external action more on the major players of this world, the existing and emerging powers, in order to make “strategic partnerships” for acting together on the main global issues. The September summit will place emphasis on the “emerging powers in Asia”, the draft agenda states. The heads of state and government will adopt conclusions setting out “guiding principles” for future work in this field. The second item under debate will be economic governance, and heads of state and government will take stock of progress made in the work of the taskforce. (H.B./transl.jl)