Brussels, 19/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The severity of the crisis in the Congo, the upcoming presidential elections in Mali and preparations for an international conference in September on a new deal for Somalia are the three African issues on the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday 22 July, to be chaired by Catherine Ashton (see related articles). A conclusions document will be published on all three points.
RDC/Great Lakes. The Council will express concern about the renewed fighting between government troops and the M23 in the Kivu regions and the sheer scale of the humanitarian crisis. The ministers will discuss ways of supporting the United Nations and the African Union in their attempts to restore stability by dealing with the roots of the conflict. The conclusions document will spell out the EU's coordinated response, calling on the Congolese government to ensure security in the east of the country, backing for implementation of the framework agreement among all the countries in the Great Lakes region to promote peace and security, support for democracy, good governance and respect for human rights and aid to help rebuild the economy.
Mali. The ministers will discuss the situation less than a week before the presidential elections on Sunday 28 July, which may well require only a single round of voting. The EU is sending an observer mission led by MEP Louis Michel (ALDE, Belgium) (see EUROPE 10887 and 10883). The Council is expected to welcome the authorities' commitment to organise credible, transparent elections.
Somalia. The Council will have a final round of talks on priorities for reconstruction of Somalia over the next few years ahead of the global conference for a new deal with Somalia (politics, economics and security) that will be held in Brussels on 16 September, to be jointly chaired by the Somalia federal government and the EU (see EUROPE 10876). The ministers will hail the government's progress in reconstructing the Somali state structure.
Sudan and South Sudan. In the conclusions document to be adopted without debate, the Council will highlight the importance of peaceful cohabitation between Sudan and South Sudan.
A conclusions document will be adopted without debate on progress in “water diplomacy”, a major challenge and new strand of the EU's foreign and security policy, which, in the space of a year, has allowed the initiatives conducted by the various institutions to be mapped. (AN/transl.fl)