Brussels, 24/09/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Union, represented by Olivier Deleuze, President of the EU Energy Council, is taking part, on Monday and Tuesday in Geneva, at the United Nations meeting to prepare the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg (South Africa) in September 2002. Ministers of 55 member countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are meeting to examine progress made since the first Earth Summit, in Rio 1992. Above all, they will outline key issues, priorities and follow-up in order to provide input for the Johannesburg Summit so that it is a turning point in the international agenda for achieving sustainable development. In order to send a clear signal to the other regions of the world, the European countries have agreed to close this meeting with the adoption of a ministerial declaration. The EU is in favour of a powerful declaration that is based as much as possible on the European strategy for sustainable development defined by the EU15 Heads of State and Government at the European Summit in Gothenburg (June 2001).