Brussels, 07/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - The preparation of the European Council will mobilise foreign affairs ministers who, during the General Affairs and External Relations Council on Monday 10 December, will examine the many points on the agenda of the Heads of State and governments' meeting in Brussels on 14 December. The Kosovo question will not be tackled before the summit but ministers will speak on other international subjects on the table at the European Council. There will also be an EU-Russia Permanent Partnership meeting (on Monday evening) and an EU-Jordan Association Council on Tuesday morning.
European Council. Following the signing of the Lisbon Treaty in the Portuguese capital, the summit will focus on economic, social and environmental questions, as well as EU legal and internal affairs (particularly immigration) and external relations. Heads of state and governments will also adopt the mandate for the “independent reflection group” (EUROPE 9559), as well as a declaration on globalisation.
Enlargement. Ministers will debate the regular reports that the European Commission adopted on 6 November (EUROPE 9537) on the candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - FYROM) and other west Balkan countries. The Council will adopt specific conclusions on Turkey and Croatia, as well as general conclusions on the new enlargement strategy approved by the European Council in December 2006. Turkey: the Council will regret the “limited progress” in 2007 political reforms but will welcome the commitment made by the Turkish government to catch up. The EU27 is hoping that the good intentions will soon be translated into “tangible actions”, particularly in the area of freedom of expression and religion, two areas Ankara is expected to take action “without delay”. The Council will express its solidarity with Turkey in its fight against terrorism (the PKK is targeted, even if it is not specifically mentioned) but it will deplore the fact that Ankara has not made any progress towards the normalisation of its relations with Cyprus. The draft conclusions prepared by the Portuguese presidency carefully avoids an opening up of the very sensitive debate on the “finality” of the accession negotiations. Although the official texts do not allow for any ambiguity, the negotiations framework approved in October 2005 clearly stipulates that the “shared objective of the negotiations is accession but the result of the discussions cannot be guaranteed”. The presidency fears that a political debate on this delicate issue (but not urgent at this stage) would prevent the continuation of technical negotiations with Ankara. The United Kingdom, however, and other member states want Monday's conclusions, as well as those of the European Council of 14 December, to explicitly point out that the EU's objective is nothing less than Turkey's accession to the EU. France says that Turkey does not have a place in the Union and opposes this. It is calling on the Council to deal only with the basic and technical conclusions that simply respond to the Commission report. On Friday, Coreper is expected to discuss the text again. It had not been ruled out that the final version be approved on Monday by the ministers. Conclusions on Croatia are not controversial: the country has made significant progress and accession negotiations are on track.
Neighbourhood policy. Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner will present ministers with the Commission's communication on the 2008 priorities for reinforcing ENP (EUROPE 9558).
Kosovo/Balkans. On the same day the Troika presents its report to the UN on negotiations between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians on the status of Kosovo (which have not succeeded), the Council on Monday will restrict itself to a first exchange of views on the conclusions in this report and the EU's reaction, in the presence of Wolfgang Ischinger. Ministers will not adopt conclusions, they will leave this to the Heads of state and government to define the EU's position on Kosovo's future (at the European Council on 14 December). On the other hand, the Council will adopt conclusions on Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, FYROM, Montenegro and Albania.
EPA. The Commission will examine progress in negotiations on the economic partnership agreements (EPA) and present a report and recommendations assessing the situation for less developed countries that have still no initialled the agreement. The Council is also expected to adopt a regulation on market access for ACP countries, based on the provisions contained in the EPA, to allow for its entry into force on 1st January.
Sudan/Chad. The Council's conclusions will welcome the launch of political discussions in Syrte at the end of October and reaffirm EU support for efforts made by the UN and African Union, while underlining the absence of cooperation by the Sudanese government concerning the deployment of the joint forces.
Middle East. In their conclusions the EU foreign affairs ministers, together with the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, will return to the results of the Annapolis conference in the US (EUROPE 9553). They will welcome the decisions of Olmert and Abbas for immediately launching bilateral negotiations to reach a peace agreement by the end of 2008. To support this ongoing process, the EU will reaffirm its intention of helping bolster security, law and order, through the expansion of the police mission in Palestine (EUPOL, COPS). The Council is also expected to adopt conclusions on the Lebanon.
Iran. At lunch, Javier Solana, will examine the Iranian nuclear dossier, following his unsuccessful meeting in London with Saïd Jalil on 30 November. The EU High Representative for the CFSP is expected to submit a report to the UN Security Council, in view of discussions (perhaps next week) on possibly new sanctions against Iran (not likely before January). Despite a US intelligence services report indicating that Tehran had suspended its nuclear arms programme in 2003, the “double track” approach, tying dialogue and international pressure through sanctions, remains the European approach. The European Council on 14 December will adopt conclusions on the subject.
Ministers will also discuss the Burma/Myanmar situation, where repression is far from over according to a report published on Friday 7 December by Human Rights Watch, which denounced international inaction (particularly in countries of the region).
Conclusions on a vast series of themes not contained in the discussion will also be adopted. These will include: Afghanistan, Somalia and EU guidelines for the promotion of children rights. (A.B/H.B)