The Ministers of the EU Member States responsible for Development will meet on Monday 23 November for a virtual meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in its Development format, dominated by the response to Covid-19 and chaired by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
They will exchange views on linking debt relief and investments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably in the context of the COVID-19 international response and recovery effort. This exchange will take place after the G20/Paris Club agreement on a common framework for the coordinated treatment of the debt of the poorest countries beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) on a case-by-case basis (see EUROPE 12602/5).
Ministers will also discuss how to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in all external action, in light of the forthcoming EU third action plan on gender equality.
Ministers will also be briefed on : - the state of negotiations between the EU and the Organisation of ACP States (OACPS) on the post-Cotonou Agreement - negotiations whose outcome was hoped for last summer, but which are still suspended pending the resolution of sensitive issues such as migration; - the single financial instrument Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) in the EU 2021-2027 budget, which was increased by €1 billion in the European Parliament/EU Council agreement of 11 November (see EUROPE 12599/2).
No press conference is planned after the exchange.
On the same day, EU Council conclusions will be adopted by written procedure calling for the continuation and increased visibility of the “Team Europe” approach, which mobilises funds from the EU, its member states, the EIB and the EBRD to finance the EU’s global response to the Covid-19 pandemic in vulnerable third countries (see EUROPE 12603/2). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)