GENERAL AFFAIRS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS
COUNCIL, NOVEMBER 2006
Letter from Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP, Minister
for Europe, Foreign and Commonwelath Office, to the Chairman
The General Affairs and External Relations Council
(GAERC) will take place on 13-14 November in Brussels. My Right
Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth
Affairs (Mrs. Margaret Beckett) and I will represent the UK. My
Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Mr.
Des Browne) will represent the UK at the Defence Ministers' discussions.
The agenda items are as follows:
GENERAL AFFAIRS
Preparation of the European Council on 14/15 December
2006
Ministers will discuss the draft agenda for
the December European Council. This groups together the issues
under four broad headings (enlargement; an area of freedom, security
and justice; innovation and energy; and external).
Enlargement
The Commission is expected to brief the Council
on the enlargement package published on 8 November, including
progress reports on Turkey, Croatia and the Western Balkans, as
well an enlargement strategy paper.
Commission Legislative Work Programme 2007
The Commission will present its priorities for
2007: prosperity, solidarity, security, a strong voice in the
world and delivery and better regulation. The paper has a strong
focus on the Lisbon agenda, promising a dynamic internal market
together with interlocking measures to foster knowledge, innovation
and a sustainable environment for growth.
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Western Balkans
UN Status Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, will brief
the Council on latest developments in Kosovo. Ministers will also
discuss Serbia.
Relations with Russia
The Council will discuss the negotiating mandate
for the successor to the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement and the EU-Russia Summit, to be held on 24 November.
Middle East Peace Process
We expect ministers to discuss the deteriorating
security situation, particularly in Gaza. The Council is likely
to focus on concrete actions the EU can take to build confidence
and momentum, such as work on Palestinian institutional capacity.
Iran
We expect the Council to receive an update on
discussions in New York.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Council is expected to discuss the situation
in the Democratic Republic of Congo following 29 October Presidential
elections.
In joint session, Defence and Foreign Ministers
will discuss future EU engagement with the Democratic Republic
of Congo.
DEFENCE MINISTERS'
DISCUSSIONS
Military Capabilities/Operations
As part of the military Headline Goal 2010,
work on producing the Force Catalogue is complete. The Catalogue
is a list of military capabilities that Member States have declared
available for an ESDP operation.
On operations, the Council will discuss EUFOR's
mission in DRC. The UN mandate will expire on 30 November and
given the situation may be volatile following the elections, a
short extension may be required.
The Council will also discuss EUFOR transition
following the recent elections in Bosnia, and Darfur where the
UK supports the extended AMIS mission, whilst continuing to bring
pressure to bear on the Sudanese government to accept a UN operation.
Civil-military Coordination
The Presidency have completed work on a paper
for improving information sharing in support of EU crisis management
operations. In December High Representative Solana is due to present
a progress report and proposals for moving forward post-Hampton
Court work on crisis management structures and Secretariat reform.
European Defence Agency
We expect the Council to discuss the operational
budget and the financial framework for 07-09.
Civilian Capabilities Improvement Conference
The Civilian Capabilities Conference will take
place in the margins of the Council to discuss the development
of civilian ESDP capabilities.
9 November 2006
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