Brussels, 23/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - Following Austria's request and that from Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary, the European Council of 22-23 March briefly referred to the follow-up to the “General Affairs Council's decision last week to postpone the launch of negotiations until Zagreb entirely cooperates with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTFY). Explaining to the press, the President of the European Council, Jean-Claude Juncker said that the result of this debate is that the conclusion of the General Affairs Council remained valid and entirely in force. The Council had, nevertheless, decided to set up a Task Force composing of the Luxembourg presidency, Javier Solana, the European Commission and the next two presidencies of the Council: the United Kingdom and Austria. The Task Force will consult the Croatian authorities and the ICTFY and produce a report for the General Affairs Council on 25 April. Juncker insisted that the final decision on accession negotiations would be taken by the Council alone, adding, “The fact that we have set up a preparation group for the future decision of the Council, does not mean that it is setting a precedent at all. It must be clear for everyone and of course, for the Commission, which is in charge of monitoring (candidate countries) that it would not have this competency removed”.