Brussels, 25/02/2003 (Agence Europe) - The External Relations and General Affairs Council on Monday looked again at the EU's division on Iraq, particularly on the second UN resolution authorising resort to force, which has been rejected by France and Germany and defended by the United Kingdom and Spain (see yesterday's Europe, p.5). On the other hand; discussions on the Balkans took place "in a generally positive atmosphere", in the words of Council President Georges Papandreou (see other news article). The General Affairs Council also took account of a report by Jean-Luc Dehaene, Vice-President of the European Convention, on the state of play of Convention work. Here are main parts of the conclusions:
ESDP: The Council noted a report presented by Javier Solana, the EU's High Representative for CFSP and by the Presidency, on the possibility of the EU taking over command from SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Franco-British co-operation on this subject. Both these documents stress the need for a mission with a strong mandate, working closely with NATO, and which could be operational in 2004 (see yesterday's Europe, p.6).
"The EU could head up the mission from next year if it's sufficiently prepared", declared Mr Papandreou to the Press. Between now and next May, these ideas will be made concrete in order to arrive at a "general concept", which would, in particular, define the mission's tasks and requirements, and which will have to be approved by the Council.
The Ministers also noted progress made in terms of preparation for the EU's future military mission in Macedonia (principally the naming of the DSACEUR, the mission's commander in chief), which will take over from NATO's mission in March (the possibility of this taking place on 15 March, following declarations by a Greek civil servant that the EU should be ready by this date, are unconfirmed: see EUROPE of 22 February, p.4).
Various sources claim that NATO has put off the revision of the mandate for its mission in Macedonia until next week, and at the same time the possible decision to set a date for its end- a vital stage if the EU is to take over. Finally, the Council noted the state of work carried out to implement permanent arrangements between the EU and Nato under the "Berlin +" agreement (see EUROPE of 16/17 December, p.4), and adopted the EU/NATO security agreement without debate, regarding confidential information exchanged by the Union and the Alliance.
Balkans: as well as the conclusions adopted (see other news article), the Council welcomed the official submission of Croatia's application for membership on 21 February in Athens (see EUROPE of 22 February, p.7). Mr Patten declared that "as soon as we have the Council's green light, we will draw up an opinion" on Croatia's candidacy, pointing out that "this could take a year".
Relations with Russia: With the EU/Russia Summit taking place in St Petersburg on 31 March , the Council discussed the revision of the Common Strategy for Russia, and highlighted the importance of making the instruments of this co-operation faster and more efficient. The Presidency is waiting for the Commission's appraisal of its Strategy. When asked about the status of the Chechen crisis within this revision, Mr Papandreou, whilst acknowledging the importance of the issue, answered that the problem would be discussed in detail in the Spring. Chris Patten added that at each meeting with Russia, he expressed the Commission's "deep concern" for the violation of human rights in Chechnya, and the difficulty of providing humanitarian aid.
Initiative for the "new neighbours": the Council discussed the EU initiative towards its "new neighbours" in Eastern Europe after enlargement (Ukraine, Moldovia, Belarus), which aims to develop an "integrated, ambitious and long-term approach" towards each of these countries, in order to promote economic and political reform (see EUROPE of 21 November, p.17). Mr Patten indicated that the Commission would present a communication on this subject, "probably next week", so that it can be discussed at the next Council. This communication will contain "ideas for EU/Russian relations", added Mr Patten.
Lastly, the Ministers discussed relations between the EU and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
In the "General Affairs" part, the Council noted: 1) a report by Jean-Luc Dehaene on the state of play of the Convention's work, which insists that the deadline for the end of its work be respected (the end of the Greek Presidency: see other news article); 2) a Presidency report on the work carried out in other Council authorities; 3) an "annotated agenda" from the Presidency for the Brussels European Council to take place on 20 and 21 March; 4) the Commission's second mid-term report on economic and social cohesion in the EU in terms of its future enlargement (send by the Council to Coreper).