Brussels, 12/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on Monday 15 September 2008, chaired by French ministers Bernard Kouchner and Jean-Pierre Jouyet, will focus on preparations for sending a European Union observer mission to Georgia, the future of EU relations with Serbia and Belarus, and the EU's attitude to Zimbabwe following the deal struck in Harare on Thursday 11 September on a government of national unity. The EU foreign ministers will also hold a preliminary discussion about the 15-16 October 2008 European Council and will touch on the state of the world trade talks at the World Trade Organisation.
After the Council meeting on Monday evening, an EU troika of ministers will meet with Turkish foreign minister Ali Babacan to discuss progress in Turkey's EU accession talks and the role Turkey is planning to play in terms of stability in the Caucasus region.
Several meetings are planned for Tuesday 16 September: - a Cooperation Council meeting with Kazakhstan; - a Cooperation Council meeting with Uzbekistan; - an EU ministerial troika meeting with the Pacific Islands Forum; - and an EU troika of ministers meeting with the African Union (AU).
An overview of issues on the agenda for the Council meeting on Monday:
European Council. The French Presidency will submit an initial draft agenda for the 15-16 October European summit meeting to the ministers. To date, the summit will focus on: (1) the Lisbon Treaty - in line with the conclusions document of the June 2008 European Council, the Irish prime minister, Brian Cowen, will brief his colleagues on his government's consultations and planning process since the no vote in the 12 June 2008 referendum, in order to get the new treaty out of deadlock; any suggestion that Brian Cowen would come up with a final solution in October has virtually been ruled out because the Irish government says it is too soon to come up with tangible solutions (see EUROPE 9738); (2) immigration and asylum policy; (3) the energy/climate package on which the French Presidency wants a deal to be found before the end of the year; (4) energy security; (5) economic and financial issues; and (6) the situation in Georgia. The summit will take place five days ahead of the 10 October 2008 deadline agreed in Moscow on 8 September for full withdrawal of Russian troops from the regions bordering on South Ossetia and Abkhazia. EU leaders will be able to assess whether Russia is meeting its commitments and will be able to draw political lessons if necessary (deciding on whether to continue negotiating a new EU cooperation agreement, for example).
Trade/Doha Round. For the first time since the breakdown of the WTO talks in Geneva in July 2008, the Council will discuss the multilateral trade talks. EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will report on what happened exactly in Geneva and will brief ministers on technical contacts since then (including this week in Geneva). The French Presidency is not planning any detailed debate at the Council meeting on Monday because, as one diplomat put it, everything's already been said. The diplomat added that that this was not the right time for a debate on the future of the EU's trade policy. In Brussels on Sunday 14 September 2008, the EU's trade ministers will have an informal dinner meeting to discuss trade and the environment.
Georgia/EU observer mission. The foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Georgia following the 8 September visit by the EU delegation to Moscow and Tbilissi (see EUROPE 9735). French Presidency sources suggest there are two challenges for Monday's meeting - indicating the EU's commitment and unity to settling the conflict in Georgia and ensuring that the 8 September agreement signed with the Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, are fully applied, including the deployment of international observers (among whom a mission of EU observers) in the “buffer zone” bordering South Ossetia and Abkhazia until 1 October 2008, and the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the buffer zone. In practical terms, the Council on Monday will approve the necessary legal documents to set up a civilian EU observer mission (in other words the operations concept and common action that forms the legal basis for the mission and covers budget issues and other aspects.) On Friday, the two documents were still being worked upon, but the French Presidency was optimistic that all details would be settled over the weekend. Although talks with the member states wishing to contribute to the mission had not been concluded, the above-quoted French diplomat said that there should be around 200 observers and the mission would be deployed across Georgia, including in other words in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. The diplomat said this was the objective but at the moment the priority was to deploy observers in the regions bordering on the two areas, adding that this would be a crucial initial stage in order to ensure Russian troops withdraw from the adjacent regions by 10 October 2008. Diplomats refused to give details on Friday about whether this “objective” of deployment throughout Georgia would be made explicit in the legal documents detailing the mandate of the future observer mission, saying that the documents were “classified”. The definition of the areas where the mission is to be deployed is a politically sensitive issue because Russia made it clear this week that it would be opposing the deployment of EU observers in South Ossetia and Abkhazia (see EUROPE 9737), which have declared impendence from Georgia. Information received by this newsletter suggests that the mission should comprise some 200 or so members, mostly police officers based at headquarters in Tbilissi and several regional offices. The head of mission may be appointed on Monday. The Council on Monday will also discuss the mission and the name of the EU's future special representative for Georgia.
Zimbabwe. Following the agreement in the evening of Thursday 11 September on the formation of a government of national unity in Zimbabwe, the ministers will examine possible measures to be taken. A diplomat explained on Friday morning that news of the agreement was brand new and would have to be assessed, along with the new situation, before any decisions to be taken by the Council on Monday were prepared. It had initially been planned for the Council to decide on Monday to extend the list of individuals in the Mugabe regime to which the EU visa ban and asset freeze applies, but the diplomat explained that they would be looking at the extent to which the new developments might lead the Council to change the initial plans to extend sanctions once more was known about the contents of the power sharing agreement, its solidity and future prospects.
Serbia. The French Presidency will try to reach agreement on “unblocking” the interim agreement to allow the trade aspects of the EU's stabilisation and association agreement (SAA) with Serbia to come into force before the SAA is formally ratified. The only country still opposing this on Friday was the Netherlands, but the Dutch may change their view in the light of information from the prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serge Brammertz, following a visit to Belgrade (he was still in Belgrade on Friday) regarding the Serb authorities' cooperation with the ICTY. The French Presidency of the EU is considering inviting Brammertz to brief ministers at the Council meeting on Monday.
Belarus. The Council will adopt a conclusions document welcoming the recent release of political prisoners in Belarus. The ministers will call for the general elections of 28 September 2008 to be free and fair. If they are, the EU may review its relations with Belarus (political contacts have been frozen since 2004). (H.B./transl.fl)