Brussels, 06/11/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Development Council, which is to meet on 8 November in Brussels, will be focused on the Community's new development policy geared to the eradication of poverty. It will cover aspects such as the implementation of its objectives, the recasting of Commission services ensuring external aid management or the imperative of increasing public aid to development at world level. No formal decision is expected but deliberations should result in Council conclusions or resolutions, contribute to reflection by EU15 Foreign Ministers, who will take over on a number of issues, or set the scene for EU participation at certain international venues. A dinner organised for Wednesday evening, on the eve of the session, will allow ministers to discuss with James Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, on a report by the Bank on the impact that the events of 11 September will have on developing countries. Discussions will be chaired by Eddy Boutmans, Belgian Secretary of State for Development Cooperation. Poul Nielson, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, will represent the European Commission.
Points on the agenda are:
Implementation of the Community's development policy. - The Council will hold a debate on the implementation of the general policy declaration (joint Council/Commission declaration of 10 November 2000) which sets out the new "European doctrine" with regards development cooperation and identifies six priority sectors for Community action, as well as changes to be made in aid management. The debate will take three directions: 1) the Commission's first annual report on external Community aid, all regions together (report 2000 and preliminary report on EuropAid activities, the only office now competent to manage external aid - see EUROPE of 27 October, p.12); 2) the Development Council's contribution to the policy debate on Community external aid to be held by the General Affairs Council in January or February 2002; and 3) the new strategy on Asia: at the request of the British delegation, the Council will discuss the Commission's intention to separate aid to Latin America from aid to Asia, within a framework of two specific regulations for cooperation with these two regions.
Development aid challenges linked to the current situation - The Council will devote itself to the preparation of the United Nations conference on development financing (Mexico, March 2002) and of the world summit on sustainable development (Johannesburg, September 2002). In this context, it will examine the timetable for achieving the commitment taken by the Member States to allocate 0.7% of their GNP to public development aid, an aim that is a determining factor in the success of these two conferences. In so doing, the ministers will pursue the debate begun during their informal emergency meeting of 10 October, devoted to the consequences of the attacks on 11 September on development cooperation (see EUROPE of 12 October, p;11).
Review of certain aspects of development policy - The Council will hold an exchange of views and should adopt conclusions or resolutions on the following subjects: - measures taken and to be taken by the Commission to meet the aim of poverty reduction; - fisheries and the fight against poverty: the Council resolution will follow up the Commission communication of November 2000; - action plan in favour of biodiversity: the Council conclusions will respond to the request made to it by the Commission in March to give its stance on an action plan within its sphere of competence (as the Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Council have already done) in order to reverse the tendency towards a decline in biological biodiversity; - action programme relating to gender issues in development cooperation: the conclusions expected should support the efforts deployed to integrate this issue into development policy and strengthen the Commission's authority in this field; - development education and heightening the awareness of the European public opinion: the Council resolution should stress the importance of promoting the above two actions.
In addition, the Council will be informed by the Presidency of the results of two recent seminars concerning, respectively: a) the involvement of the civil society of ACP countries in the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement (Brussels, 6 and 7 July); b) the cooperation instruments to be implemented in the ACP countries in crisis or affected by conflict (Brussels 1 and 2 October).
At the request of the Belgian delegation, the Council will informally tackle the question of the action programme relating to the fight against climate change, at a time when the international negotiations on implementation of the Kyoto Protocol are taken up at ministerial level (COP7, Marrakesh, 7-9 November).