Brussels, 09/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The future of relations between the EU and Serbia, and the future status of Kosovo, will be the main subjects on the agenda of the “General Affairs/External Relations” Council due to take place in Brussels on Monday 12 February, and which will be attended by the UN special envoy for Kosovo, Martti Ahtisaari. The European prospects of the western Balkans will also be debated at a special meeting to be held later on Monday by the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the EU with their opposite numbers from all of the countries of the region: Serbia (with the participation of the EU representative for Kosovo), Montenegro, Croatia, Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom) and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The most recent events in the Middle East, particularly the agreement concluded on Thursday between Fatah and Hamas on creating a national unity government, will also be on the agenda for the ministers, as will the Iranian nuclear programme, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia. On Tuesday, there will be a quadripartite meeting with the Council of Europe, and of the Cooperation Councils with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Here is the full agenda of the Council, which will be chaired by Frank-Walter Steinmeier:
Preparations for the European Council of 8/9 March. The ministers will look at a draft agenda prepared by the German Presidency, for a European Summit focusing principally on the following three subjects: 1) the energy and climate policy of the EU. Under the heading of energy, the Council will adopt the EU action plan which features in the annex to the final conclusions. As for the fight against climate change, the Heads of State and Government will call upon the EU to play a “major role” at international level and to develop and reinforce the system for trading in emissions quotas. 2) Lisbon Strategy for growth and employment. In their conclusions, the 27 leaders will note that the “Lisbon Strategy is bearing fruit”. They will also approve recommendations by country for the Member States and the euro zone. They will then adopt measures aiming to improve governance within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy. According to a draft Presidency text, the European Council should call for the following measures to be taken: - a financial and economic policy which is based on growth and stability; - the consolidation of the internal market, including the integration of the financial markets; - boosting innovation, research and education; - the promotion of employment and the development of the European model of society. 3) Better regulation. The leaders will call for new measures in the following areas: - improvements to legislation; - legislative simplification; - and the reduction of the administrative burden (together with a quantitative objective). The European Council will also look at issues of international current affairs “if needs be”, said a source close to the German Presidency.
Doha Round/WTO. At the informal dinner on Sunday evening, Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will report back to the Trade Ministers of the EU on recent developments in negotiations under the Doha Round, particularly on the results of the Davos meeting. The Twenty-Seven will also discuss the issue of introducing provisions to favour access for SMEs to public procurement, within the framework of the current renegotiation of the WTO agreement within this area (see EUROPE 9351). On Monday, Mr Mandelson will brief the Foreign Affairs Ministers on the state of play with negotiations at the WTO.
Kosovo/Serbia. Martti Ahtisaari will report to the ministers on the details of his proposals, tabled on 2 February, on the future status of Kosovo (EUROPE 9358), whilst Mr Steinmeier, Javier Solana and Olli Rehn will report back on talks held this week in Belgrade by the EU troika (EUROPE 9362). On the future of relations between the EU in Serbia, ministers will hold an in-depth political debate on the scope and nature of the “signal” to be sent out by the EU to Belgrade, just as the new government, which the EU hopes will be pro-European, is being set up. “Europe holds out its hand to Serbia in favour of coming ever closer together, not ruling out the prospect of accession”, sources close to the German Presidency pointed out on Friday, but the condition laid down by the EU for negotiations to resumed on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (ASA) remains unchanged: Belgrade must give its “full and entire cooperation” to the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), to bring Karadzic and Mladic to justice as a priority. Several Member States (Italy, Greece, Spain, Slovenia, Hungary, and others) plead in favour of greater flexibility in the application of this condition, stating that it should not necessarily prevent the ASA negotiations from continuing, even if the conclusion of the agreement will, obviously, depend on Belgrade's full cooperation with ICTY. A special meeting of Coreper was still underway late on Friday afternoon, to debate the draft conclusions on two subjects (Serbia and Kosovo) to be adopted by the ministers on Monday.
Middle East. Ministers will discuss the new state of play following the announcement in Mecca on Thursday of a deal between Fatah and Hamas to set up a Palestinian government of unity. Under the agreement, Ismail Hanyah, the Hamas leader and acting prime minister, has been instructed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to form a national unity government. Has is expected to respect the international legality and agreements signed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation, involving implicit recognition of the state of Israel. On Friday, the EU welcomed the agreement but said more detailed study would be required before any resumption of relations and further financial aid could be considered for the Palestinian government. Sources close to Javier Solana said that they would be analysing all the details with the best will in the world, in a positive but prudent way. Sources close to Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the Commission would be studying the impact of the deal on the EU's relations, like whether the new government would meet the three conditions set by the international community (recognition of Israel, giving up violence and respecting international agreements). The Council will adopt conclusions on this on Monday.
Iran and the nuclear dossier. Over dinner, the ministers will have a policy debate about the Iranian nuclear dossier. While the EU27 unanimously agrees on the need for 'strict, firm and rapid' application of UN Security Council Resolution 1737, the adoption of the draft EU regulation on the practicalities of the financial side (asset freezing) is currently in deadlock at the Council because of the dispute between Spain and the UK over Gibraltar. Sources suggest the EU27 will hope to reach a common position over the next few days. Some Member States, like the United Kingdom, want to move beyond the sanctions foreseen in Resolution 1737, particularly in terms of trade, visas and asset freezing and this might be discussed at a later stage. At the moment, the EU's priority is to not delay application of Resolution 1737.
Afghanistan. The Council on Monday will give agreement in principle to the EU's CFSP police and rule of law mission in Afghanistan, and the ministers will be adopting conclusions on the country.
The Council will also adopt conclusion documents on Sudan, Somalia and Lebanon. (hb/eh)