EU Ministers for Trade and Development to hold a joint session at the General Affairs and External Relations Council
Government Communications Unit
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Press Release 357/2006
13 October 2006
The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) will meet on 16 and 17 October in Luxembourg. The Council meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki.
This is the first time that the Council will include a joint session of the EU Ministers of Trade and Development. This procedure aims to increase coherency in the consideration of the Union’s trade and development policy during Finland’s EU Presidency. Before the Council meeting on 15 October, the Trade Ministers will have an informal dinner to discuss the situation with regard to the WTO negotiation round and European competitiveness.
At the joint session of Trade and Development Ministers, the aim is to achieve an agreement on the contents and implementation of the EUR 2 billion aid-for-trade package. Trade can catalyse economic growth and decrease poverty in developing countries. This cannot, however, be achieved automatically but requires that businesses in developing countries are able to utilise the various possibilities of international trade broadly. Developing economies need help in their efforts to enter new markets and develop their trade potential and production capacity. In addition, economic reforms and development of the world trade system are important in terms of the challenges that developing countries are facing. The Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and ACP countries may also contribute to the ACP countries’ competitiveness. Aid for trade is, however, needed to complement these agreements.
The Ministers of Development will consider expedient ways of distributing duties both within the Union and between the other partners involved. The EU is the world’s largest donor of development aid and it is committed to increasing the amount of its aid. But increases in the quantity of aid must go hand in hand with increases in the quality and productivity of aid. To achieve the set development aims, it is necessary to improve the coordination of policies.
The informal dinner of Development Ministers on 16 October will focus on migration and development issues. It is important to pay attention to immigration questions in the consideration of development policy and, respectively, to include development perspective in the consideration of immigration policy.
The EU Ministers of Development and Foreign Affairs will hold a joint session to discuss ways of improving the coherence of development policies within the Union. This makes part of the Presidency’s objective to enhance the effectiveness, consistency and visibility of the EU’s external relations. The Ministers will also discuss the role of development policy in the overall framework of the Union’s external relations. The aim is that, in the future, the Council will attach greater emphasis to development issues in its work.
The Ministers of Development and Foreign Affairs will discuss the implementation of the EU’s Africa Strategy adopted in December 2005. The geographical focus of the Union’s development policy is on Africa where the UN Millennium Goals are the most challenging to achieve. That is why the EU is increasingly directing its aid to African countries. In its Africa Strategy, the Union states that good and effective governance are prerequisite for development. The Development Ministers will discuss the Commission communication on good governance. They will also touch on the recently established African Infrastructure Fund.
The Council is to adopt the new Development Cooperation Instrument agreed on by the European Commission, Council and the European Parliament. The agreement will allow an undisturbed continuation of aid as of the beginning of 2007.
The Foreign Ministers will discuss the North Korean nuclear test which has been strongly and determinately condemned by the international community. The UN Security Council’s current consideration of the issue will also determine the EU’s internal discussion on measures to implement. In the context of external relations, the Council will discuss the tense situation between Georgia and Russia, the Middle East, the Western Balkans, Iran, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
The Council is to adopt conclusions on the basis of the Commission’s monitoring reports, issued at the end of September, on Romania and Bulgaria assessing their preparedness for membership. The conclusions will announce that Bulgaria and Romania are ready to join the European Union on 1 January 2007 and express support for the monitoring and accompanying measures proposed by the Commission.
On 17 October, the discussion of the EU Development and Foreign Ministers on the coherence of development policy and effectiveness of the EU’s external action may be followed on the Presidency website at www.eu2006.fi/webcasts(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) and on the website of the Council Secretariat at www.consilium.europa.eu/videostreaming(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window).
Further information: Anne Huhtamäki, Counsellor, tel. +358 9 1605 6097 or +358 40 546 0456 and, as regards trade and development issues, Jorma Korhonen, Director General, tel. +358 9 1605 5042 and Ritva Koukku-Ronde, Deputy Director General, tel. +358 9 1605 6490, Ministry for Foreign Affairs