Brussels, 10/10/2008 (Agence Europe) -Preparations for the European Council of 15-16 October, the situation in Georgia, the resumption of negotiations with Russia on a new partnership agreement, the future of relations with Belarus, restricted EU measures against Uzbekistan and the situation in Zimbabwe will dominate the work of the "General Affairs/External Relations" Council, which will meet in Luxembourg on 30 October. On the sidelines of the meeting, which will be chaired by Bernard Kouchner and Jean-Pierre Jouyet, an Association Council with Morocco will also be held. Here is the detailed agenda of Monday's Council:
European Council. The foreign affairs ministers of the 27 will hold a reasonably in-depth debate on the draft conclusions prepared by the French Presidency. The broad subjects of the summit will be: the financial crisis; - the Treaty of Lisbon. The Irish prime minister will at this stage go no further than to give a brief summary of the state of play with reflections in Dublin over the reasons for the "no-vote" and any options to break the deadlock. The European Council will meet in December in the hope of achieving a clear roadmap to move forward with the situation; - the Pact on immigration and asylum, which will be approved; - the energy/climate package, on which the French Presidency hopes to reach an agreement in December (see other article); - the follow-up to the extraordinary European Council of 1 September on the crisis in Georgia (see below).
Georgia. On Monday, the ministers will note with satisfaction that the withdrawal of Russian troops from the areas adjacent to South Ossetia and Abkhazia took place before the expiry of the deadline of 10 October, agreed between the EU and Russia in the agreements signed by Nicolas Sarkozy and Dmitri Medvedev in Moscow on 8 September. This means that in line with the conclusions of the extraordinary European Council of 1 September, the conditions have now been met for the resumption of EU/negotiations on the new partnership agreement. "The Russian withdrawal opens the way for a resumption of negotiations", a representative of the French Presidency confirmed on Friday. It remains to be seen whether the Council will make an official decision on the official relaunch of negotiations with Moscow on Monday, or whether it will leave the announcement to the European Council. Legally speaking, no official decision is necessary, as the observation that the Russian troops have withdrawn is enough for the Commission (which is carrying out the negotiations on behalf of the EU) to resume talks, the diplomat explained. The ministers will also discuss international negotiations on the finer points of security and stability in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, due to open in Geneva on 15 October. They will also welcome the fact that a conference of the donors in favour of Georgia is to be held in Brussels on 22 October.
Belarus. After the elections of 28 September, described by the EU as "disappointing" (because they were not democratic), the Council will discuss the future of relations with Belarus. Taking account of a small number of improvements noted by the OSCE electoral observers and the recent liberation of the last political prisoners, the Council is expected on Monday to announce a "gradual re-engagement" with the country. Ministers are very likely to decide that the EU is prepared to develop a dialogue with the Belarusian authorities, with the objective of encouraging real progress democratically and on the protection of human rights. The ministers will also examine the question of a possible partial lifting of restrictive measures (visa ban, freezing of assets) in place against some 40 leaders under the Lukashenko regime, including the Belarusian president himself. On Friday, several countries (the Netherlands, the Scandinavian countries) still had reservations about lifting these sanctions too quickly, as they believed that this would send out the wrong signal to the Minsk authorities. According to diplomats, one solution may be to relax some of the restrictive measures for lower-grade civil servants, who were less involved in the violations of human rights, and to keep in place targeted sanctions for higher-ranking officials.
Uzbekistan. In conclusions which will be adopted on Monday, the Council is expected to note that the country has made progress over the last 12 months on the respect of the rule of law and the protection of human rights. According to diplomats, it is likely that the ministers will decide on Monday definitively to lift the visa ban which has been in place since October 2005 against those responsible for the massacre of Andijan in May 2005 (this restrictive measure has already been "suspended" since October 2007). The embargo on the sale of arms, on the other hand, is expected to remain in place.
Zimbabwe. The ministers will adopt conclusions in which they are expected to note with concern the fact that the agreement of 15 September on power-sharing and the creation of a national union government has yet to be implemented. The Council is also likely to voice concern at the worsening humanitarian situation in the country.
The Council will also adopt, but without debate, conclusions on Moldova and Mexico. (H.B./trans.fl)