Brussels, 10/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - The EU's position on the global framework for sustainable development after 2015, the links between migration and development, and the EU's mid- to long-term response to the Ebola epidemic are the main items on the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council - which is meeting in its Development format in Brussels on Friday 12 December.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini will chair the session, and this will be preceded by an informal dinner, on the evening of Thursday 11 December, to be attended by the EU ministers and Amina Mohammed from Nigeria, the special adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, for development planning after 2015. The discussion will continue the following day between the 28 EU member states. European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica and European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, who is also the EU's coordinator for Ebola, will represent the European Commission.
Post-2015 framework. The Council will have an exchange of views on the summary report -The Road to Dignity by 2030 - which was presented on 4 December by Ban Ki-Moon to help the international community decide - in New York in September 2015 - on a sustainable global development programme for post-2015. The conclusions on the EU's negotiation position will be adopted by the General Affairs Council on 16 December. Given its economic, social and environmental dimensions, sustainable development actually goes beyond the framework of only development (see EUROPE 11214).
Migration, refugees and development. The Council will have an exchange of views on the interdependence between migration and development cooperation and will adopt its conclusions. These are expected to recall the importance of development cooperation for remedying the root causes of illegal migration, to stress the positive aspects of migration, to call for a coordinated approach to be guaranteed as regards refugees and the growing number of internally displaced people, and to call for a more systematic integration of migratory issues in the dialogue with third countries. The Council is also expected to ask the Commission to present new strategic guidelines before the end of the year.
Ebola. The ministers will hold an exchange of views on the mid- to long-term support that should be brought to the most affected countries in West Africa (Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia) in order to aid the reconstruction of their health systems and the recovery of these very poor countries when the epidemic has been contained. The strategy on this will be discussed at the high-level international conference that will be organised during the first half of 2015. With over €1.1 billion committed thus far, the EU is the world's top donor as part of the coordinated response to this crisis, which has claimed nearly 7,000 lives and devastated the social and economic fabric of the countries affected (see EUROPE 11213 and 11208). Stylianides will present the ministers with his report on implementing his mandate - a report which is due to be submitted to the heads of state and government of the 28 EU member states at the European Council on 18-19 December (see EUROPE 11199).
Gender equality. The Council will be informed of the ongoing preparatory work on a new EU action plan on gender equality in development cooperation to succeed the current programme, applicable until 2015.
The Council will adopt conclusions without debate on: - the action plan on nutrition; - the role of the private sector in development; - the European Commission's 2014 annual report on development policies and EU external aid and their implementation in 2013. (AN)