Brussels, 16/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - High ranking officials responsible for the Barcelona Process held their first meeting this year in Brussels on 16/17 January. The agenda included issues like the official implementation of the counter-terrorism code of conduct adopted on 28 November 2005 by the Barcelona EuroMed Summit, the media in the EuroMed region (the officials will examine the conclusions reached by three conferences on the media last year), holding a seminar on racism and xenophobia in the media, the outcome of meetings at the end of 2005 on the environment, cultural cooperation (the Anna Lindt Foundation), transport and preparations for the meeting of industry ministers in Rhodes in September (the EuroMed Industrial Cooperation Group met in Brussels on 12/13 January). The meeting will also look at cooperation on policy and security in seminars on mine-sweeping and weapons of mass destruction.
Most of the meeting will be taken up by consideration of the Austrian Presidency's work programme, drawn up along with the Finnish Presidency (which will be taking over from Austria in the second half of the year). The Presidencies pledge to develop the European Neighbourhood Policy and fund it as a tool for backing regional stability and the EU's security policy. As part of the policy, the Council in 2006, encouraged by the Austrian and Finnish Presidencies, will adopt action plans for Egypt and the Lebanon. On the Barcelona Process, preparations have started for the 8th conference of foreign ministers, to be held in Finland in the second half of the year. Other priorities include implementing the EU-Algeria Association Agreements, continuing dialogue with Syria and continuing to seek a negotiated solution to the Middle East crisis.
The Barcelona Process section of the work programme includes a regional EuroMed police seminar on fighting money laundering, to be held in Malta on 16-20 January. On the same day, another seminar, this time on training trainers, will be held in Barcelona and a working group meeting on the network of environment correspondents is being planned in Athens on 20 January.