Brussels, 12/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The Foreign Affairs Council to be held on Monday 15 October should strengthen sanctions against Iran and Syria and also discuss possible EU support for intervention in Mali.
The foreign affairs ministers will discuss Syria and should strengthen their sanctions. The assets of 28 people and two entities will be frozen and a visa ban will be put in place, with the “idea of having a dissuasive effect on the people who surround the authorities, with a reversal logic”, a source says. The EU is also expected to ban the sale of arms to Syria, their transport and provision of insurance services to this transport, so as not to help Syria's military cooperation with other countries, a European source says. Syrian Airlines will no longer be able to land in Europe. The Council will amongst other things discuss assistance to the refugees and displaced persons inside the country, the regional implications of the conflict, contacts with the Syrian opposition, and support for the diplomatic efforts of Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi. In its conclusions, it is expected to reaffirm its deep concern about the growing deterioration of the situation and the effects of contagion in the region.
The minister will also take out further sanctions against Iran due to the lack of progress in the negotiations on its nuclear programme. The EU will thus ban the import of Iranian gas into the EU, and strengthen the freeze on assets of the Iranian central bank. There will also be a ban on used supplies for the nuclear programme. The transport sector is also targeted, with a ban on European companies supplying ships for the transport of Iranian oil. One person and 34 entities will be added to the list of visa bans and assets freezing. According to another diplomat, the sanctions package is “ambitious” to “provide encouragement for the negotiation”.
Mali. A few days away from the AU/EU/ECOWAS summit (Bamoko, 19 October) where - under the aegis of the UN - the strategy involving dialogue and possible intervention in Mali should be clarified, the ministers will have an exchange of views on the form which EU aid could take to the security sector of Mali - the North of which is in the hands of armed groups and radical Islamists terrorising the population and threatening the stability of the whole Sahel (see EUROPE 10707). The conclusions that the Council will adopt will ask High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and the European Commission to examine the option of rapid support to the African Union and ECOWAS in the area of planning, and to envisage financial support. In July the Council had said it was ready to support the possible deployment of a well-prepared ECOWAS stabilisation force under mandate of the UN Security Council, as well as in coordination with a government of national union and the African Union, and to contribute to the restructuring of Malian security and defence forces under civil control.
Prolongation of sanctions against Minsk. The Council will also prolong the sanctions against Belarus which expire on 31 October, but it is not expected to add to them, a European diplomat says. Thus, as long as all the political prisoners have not been released, that no released prisoner has been restored to favour, and respect for human rights, the rule of law and democratic principles have not moved forward, the 243 Belarusians who are responsible - including President Lukashenko and the minister for Belarusian foreign affairs - will continue to be subject to a visa ban and - along with 32 entities - to an assets freeze.
The ministers will also adopt conclusions on Georgia, following the parliamentary elections on 1 October, and on the continuation of relations. They will discuss the next EU/Arab League meeting in mid-November, and preparatory work for the taskforce with Egypt, planned for 13 November. The Council will also take stock of the Middle East peace process, when the ministers and high representative met the Israelis and Palestinians in New York. The ministers will start reflections on the EU position in relation to the initiative of the Palestinian Authority which is aiming to become a non-member observer of the United Nations General Assembly. The ministers will briefly discuss the follow-up to give to the summit with China so as to prepare the short exchange of views that will take place at the European Council on 18-19 October.
Meeting with Lavrov. At an informal dinner on Sunday evening, ahead of the Council, the foreign affairs ministers and high representative will meet the Russian minister of foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss Syria. The Europeans and Russians will try to bring down their differences. The EU also wants to know what Russia is saying to the Syrian regime, with which it has contacts. The Europeans would like the Russians to make concessions, while the Russians think that some member states which are part of the United Nations Security Council have not taken enough consideration of Russia's position and are not flexible enough. At Lavrov's request, the Russians and Europeans will also discuss Iran and bilateral questions, such as visas, mobility, energy and the partnership for modernisation. (CG, AN/transl.fl)