Brussels, 06/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - The General Affairs Council (GAC) that French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine is to chair on Monday in Luxembourg will have the following items on its agenda in addition to the politically crucial issue of Serbia (see other article on pages 3 and 4):
- Effectiveness of EU external aid. Along the lines of the informal ministerial meeting in Evian and the GAC of September, the Council is expected to adopt, on the basis of a note from the French Presidency, Conclusions which would open the way to the following measures:
- Strengthened coordination between Commission and Member States: - increased coordination and transparency, including on the ground, among other things by the exchange of information on all the aspects of cooperation programmes, including for the preparation and follow-up of individual projects; - role of the country benefiting from EU aid. This role must be strengthened in the definition of its strategies and development programmes, as well as in the general coordination of resources; - dialogue with the other fund providers, mainly the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations agencies; - annual assessment on the basis of a report from the Presidency on the basis of an assessment by the Commission and the heads of mission on the ground (for practical reasons, this assessment would be on the Western Balkans in 2000, EUROPE has reason to believe, as well as the Mediterranean and southern and western Africa, the sphere of assessment thus being enlarged).
- Taking advantage of the EU's global effort and increasing its effectiveness: - the elaboration of a new instrument that crystallises relations between the EU and the third countries, based on "country indexes" and a scoreboard for commitments and disbursements. EUROPE has reason to believe that, in an initial stage, the countries applying for EU membership (including Turkey), the Western Balkans, the Mediterranean countries and the former USSR states would be covered; - rationalisation of the Commission services and simplification of procedures for managing external aid; - further action on reform aimed at a better management of Community programmes; - complementarity between the Community and its Member States, together with increased cooperation, between other countries as far as the identification of projects, the exchange of expertise and, where necessary, the management of projects is concerned.
- Common strategies whose importance for the coordination, coherence and effectiveness of external aid should be underlined;
- Organisation of a policy debate on EU external actions as a while at the start of each year, the first of them having, in principal, to occur in January or February of next year (the decision will fall to the next Swedish Presidency of the Council).
- MEDA II (Assistance programme for Mediterranean countries). Following the GAC session in September, the Committee of Permanent Representatives finalised the drafting of the regulation over which a political agreement should arise for as much as the Ministers are able to resolve the last pending problem, that of the multiannual financial reference amount to be set aside. EUROPE recalls that the Commission proposed a total of EUR 9,710,600,00 for the 2000-2006 period.
- "Barcelona process". The Council will take note of the information given by the French Presidency concerning the state of preparation of the 4th Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting scheduled for next 15/16 November in Marseilles. EUROPE recalls that a mission including representatives from the Presidency, the Commission and the Secretariat General of the Council is underway in the capitals of the Mediterranean partner countries to gather their views so as to ensure the fruitful rekindle of the process and the adoption, if possible in Marseilles, of a Charter for Peace and Stability. The question of knowing if the ministerial meeting will be broken up by a Euro-Mediterranean summit will be decided at a later date, in the light, among others, of the development of the situation in the Middle East (The recent development have obviously complicated the situation, see yesterday's EUROPE page 4).
- Bananas. Commissioner Lamy will present to the Council the new Commission proposal with a view to finding a solution to the dispute over bananas. It will above all call on ministers to: - confirm how urgent it is to find a solution to the dispute; - recognise that the Commission has explored every track possible and confirm the validity of the approach proposed; - send a strong signal to the EP so that the latter give its opinion rapidly; - entrust the relevant bodies of the Council to begin the work necessary for reaching an agreement. The ministerial debate should still prove quite controversial, less over the solution "first come first served" adopted by the Commission than on the automatic transition to an exclusively tariff regime in 2006/2007, certain Member States wanting a clause for a prior meeting to be held.
- Situation of the oil market. President Romano Prodi will present the Commission Communication relating to EU oil supplies, already amply reported on in EUROPE (see following pages on proposed partnership with Russia). The Council will carry out a first exchange of views on this document that will be discussed by the Heads of State and Government during the informal summit in Biarritz.
- Products originating in the less developed countries. The Commission initiative that all products, except weapons, produced in the 48 countries concerned, may have duty free access to the Community market will be presented by Pascal Lamy. A substantive debate is not expected at this stage, but some ministers could present their first remarks.
- Preliminary draft budget 2001. Romano Prodi will personally refer to the Council the correcting letter whereby the Commission calls for human resources and additional operating funds in order to be able to correctly assume the responsibilities entrusted to it. President Prodi plans to heighten the awareness of ministers and place them directly before their responsibilities. See other article on page 11 for details.
- Miscellaneous issues. Three subjects will be broached: a) Austria will raise the question of nuclear safety in the context of enlargement, its concern being that the EU should define its criteria so as to progress with negotiations with applicant countries; b) the Netherlands will speak of the situation in the Moluccas; c) President Prodi will draw the Council's attention to the Commission's Communication relating to measures to take, in the framework of the fight against poverty, regarding transmissible diseases.
Finally, worth noting that the Council will, without further debate, adopt the catalogue of forces that, in the field of the European Security and Defence Policy, will allow then to convene a conference on force engagement in which each capital will say what it is prepared to put in the basket when, in 2003, the EU will have to be able to mobilise 60,000 troops within three months. (See EUROPE of 25/26 September for the discussion between EU defence ministers).
