Appendix 1: report on a Council meeting
held during a recess
When the House is sitting, we table a written Question
on the day of each meeting of the Council of Ministers asking
for a report on the Council meeting and on the activities of UK
Ministers in it. However, for Council meetings taking place when
the House is in recess we ask Departments to write to us instead.
A reply concerning a meeting during the Easter recess is published
below.
Letter from the Minister for Europe at
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Denis MacShane) to the
Chairman of the Committee
General Affairs and External Relations Council:
14 April
I am writing to inform you of the outcome of discussions
held at the 14 April General Affairs and External Relations Council
in Luxembourg, in place of my reply to the usual Parliamentary
Question.
13 May 2003
Outcome of the 14 April General Affairs and External
Relations Council
Mr MacShane, Minister for Europe, represented the
UK at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Luxembourg
on 14 April. No formal votes were taken. Conclusions on counter-proliferation,
Western Balkans, Belarus, Burma, Indonesia, Afghanistan and Cuba
were agreed by consensus.
Given the signing of the Accession Treaty on 16 April,
this was the last General Affairs and External Relations Council
at which only fifteen states participated.
External Relations Session
Policy towards the EU's Neighbours
The Council held a public debate on the EU's policy
towards its neighbours, in advance of the 17 April European Conference
in Athens. Ministers stressed the importance that the EU's approach
should remain flexible. While it was important to maintain consistency,
it was equally important to take into account the particular situations
individual countries faced and create for each targeted objectives
and timetables. The Council mandated the Commission to work up
further details on the Neighbourhood Instrument (which provides
financial help to the EU's neighbours to promote more effective
co-operation across the EU's borders) and individual country Action
Plans (which will set out the way ahead for enhancing EU relations
with each neighbour).
WESTERN BALKANS
The High Representative for Common Foreign and Security
Policy, Javier Solana and the Commission presented a package of
measures to support reform in Serbia and Montenegro. The High
Representative also warned of dangerous tensions in Kosovo. Mr
MacShane reported on his recent visit to the region noting that
the new government in Serbia and Montenegro had made good on reforms
but faced a difficult economic situation. The Council adopted
conclusions that included the referral of Croatia's membership
application to the Commission for its opinion and an agreement
on a travel ban on associates of International Criminal Tribunal
for former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indictees (the Common Position agreeing
this ban was foreshadowed in a letter to the scrutiny committees
before the GAERC and has since been submitted for formal scrutiny).
ESDP
The Belgian Foreign Minister Michel briefed Partners
on the objectives for the four nation April 29 European Defence
Summit. A number of Ministers, including Mr MacShane, underlined
the importance of keeping the ESDP agenda to the vision articulated
at Nice in December 2000 i.e. that ESDP should be complementary
to NATO and focused on operations and improving capabilities.
Many Partners emphasised that the outcome of the April 29 Summit
should be fed into the Convention on the Future of Europe as a
contribution, and that ESDP should capitalise on its successes
so far (the EU Police Mission in Bosnia and the launch of ESDP's
first military mission, Operational Concordia in Macedonia).
EU/RUSSIA
Ministers looked ahead to the EU-Russia Summit, to
be held in St Petersburg on 31 May. They agreed that it was vital
that preparation ahead of the Summit should focus on substantive
outcomes for the Summit, and that discussion of the various structures
which supported the EU-Russia relationship should be kept brief.
Ministers will review Summit preparation at the 19-20 May GAERC.
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
The Council discussed the EU's role in countering
Weapons of Mass Destruction proliferation. Ministers agreed that
the EU needed to enhance its strategy which should fully take
into account the need for effective co-operation with international
partners. Ministers recognised that the June European Council
and the EU-US Summit in Washington on 25 June were useful milestones
at which the EU could produce a more effective and coherent counter-proliferation
strategy. The Secretariat and Commission were tasked to take
work forward.
IRAQ
The Council agreed that the EU had an important economic
and political role to play in post-conflict Iraq. There was agreement
that the UN had a central role. Given the speed at which events
continued to unfold on the ground in Iraq, Ministers decided that
no substantive GAERC conclusions language was needed.
MIDDLE EAST
Ministers agreed that the Quartet Roadmap needed
to be implemented quickly and that the EU continued to have a
key role to play (as evidenced by its membership of the Quartet).
Mr MacShane briefed Partners on President Bush's talks with the
Prime Minister at Hillsborough and underlined the need for the
EU to work with the US if progress on the Middle East Peace Process
was to be made.
NORTH KOREA
High Representative Solana briefed on North Korea.
The situation continued to evolve. Ministers agreed to maintain
a close watch on the situation and that distinctive EU action
at this stage would be premature.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah was invited
to brief the GAERC on developments in Afghanistan. He reported
progress on security, regional relations, drugs strategy, human
rights, economic reconstruction, the election timetable, judicial
reform and plans for Afghanistan's Constitutional Loya Jirga by
the end of 2003. There were still, however, concerns about internal
security. Ministers agreed that it was essential that the international
community continue to offer its full support to Afghan efforts
to rebuild the country. The Council adopted conclusions.
CUBA
The Council agreed conclusions language proposed
by the Presidency condemning recent human rights abuses against
dissidents in Cuba.
LIBYA
Italy proposed a partial lifting of the EU arms embargo
on Libya to enable Libya to be supplied with equipment to help
it police its borders and more effectively address illegal immigration
from Libya to the EU. The Council did not take a decision on
lifting sanctions but agreed that an experts group would examine
the broader problem of illegal immigration into the EU from Libya.
SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)
The Commission reported that the situation in the
EU was under control: there has been no local transmission and
no deaths. There was however a need for EU Member States to co-ordinate
their travel advice to third countries and further improve their
consular co-operation.
BELARUS
The Presidency noted the decision by fourteen EU
Member States to lift a visa ban imposed on the Belarusian leadership,
given recent co-operation by the Belarusians in allowing the Organisation
for Security and Co-operation in Europe to operate once more in
Minsk. The Presidency further noted, however, that the human
rights situation in Belarus had deteriorated and that there should
be no further development of relations with Belarus until it demonstrated
greater respect for core values held by the EU, including respect
for Belarus citizens' fundamental rights (including, inter
alia, the freedom of worship and freedom of expression).
WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION — DOHA DEVELOPMENT
AGENDA
Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy briefed the Council
on a Commission proposal in respect of the temporary movement
of persons ("GATS Mode 4"), which he hoped would form
part of the EU's offer to the WTO on trade in services. The Council
decided to refer the matter to officials at the Article 133 Committee
for further consideration. Agreement was reached shortly afterwards
and the EU submitted its services offer on the 29 April.
General Affairs Session
Progress on the work of the Convention
There was a short discussion of Convention issues,
ahead of discussion at the Athens European Council, 16 April.
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