EU ministers discussed external relations at joint council meeting
The European Union organised an extensive meeting on Monday, 19 November, when Foreign Affairs Ministers, Defence Ministers and Development Ministers gathered in Brussels. Finland was represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen and Minister for Defence Jyri Häkämies. The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) was combined to a joint session of Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers and for the first time, to a joint session of Defence Ministers and Development Ministers.
Portugal, holding the Presidency of the Council, presented the draft agenda for the European Council to the Ministers for Foreign Affairs. The topics of the summit will include immigration policy, mid-term review of Lisbon Strategy, Bali Convention on climate change, sustainable development and external affairs. Heads of State and Government are to sign the EU Reform Treaty on Thursday, 13 December, in Lisbon, the summit taking place in Brussels on Friday, 14 December.
The Ministers for Foreign Affairs also discussed the Middle East Peace Process whose participants are preparing themselves for the Peace Conference to be held in Annapolis, United States.
Others summits were also on the agenda of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs. The EU-China Summit will take place on 28 November in Beijing, the EU-India Summit on 30 November in New Delhi and the EU-Africa Summit on 8-9 December in Lisbon.
The domestic policy crisis of Georgia and the situation in Pakistan were also in focus at the council meeting. Due to the upcoming parliamentary elections of Pakistan, the country’s political situation has been tense for months. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq Hoshyar Zebari addressed the EU Ministers concerning the situation in Iraq. The situation in Iran was also discussed at the meeting.
The European Commission presented a new Communication on the EU’s Integrated Maritime Policy, the objectives of which Finland supports. The maritime policy aims at improving sustainable use of marine resources, as well as the prerequisites for related jobs and industry. Finland stressed the importance of the Baltic Sea and the Northern areas, as well as the Baltic Sea Strategy.
EU Defence Ministers gathered in the framework of the Council meeting to discuss among other topics the activities and financing of the European Defence Agency, crisis management and the development of military capacities. The topics of the working lunch included the EU-NATO cooperation in Kosovo and in Afghanistan, as well as the EU-Africa partnership.
The joint session of the Foreign and Defence Ministers focused on the EU’s military crisis management operation in Chad and in the Central African Republic.
Security a key issue in development policy
The EU Development and Defence Ministers discussed security and development issues at their joint session. Security is one of the EU’s key priorities in promoting a coherent development policy. The aim is to have different, flexible forms of aid complementing each other when there will be a need for development aid instead of aid for conflict prevention, crisis management and humanitarian aid.
Finland stressed a good coordination among the key EU bodies of development policy. The EU should also work in close cooperation with other international bodies, such as the UN, the World Bank, the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD and the civil society.
The Development Ministers also discussed the situation of the so called fragile states. The President of the World Bank Robert Zoellick gave the Council his views on the situation.
The Development Ministers will continue their meeting on Tuesday with a focus on the Economic Partnership Agreements of the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. The exemption granted for the current trade arrangements of the World Trade Organisation will expire at the end of 2007. The European Commission has put forward a possibility for interim agreements in order to fulfil the requirements of the WTO to access the market and continue the negotiations in the course of 2008.
Development ministers will also talk about coherent development policy, especially concerning immigration and climate change issues. Other topics to be covered include promotion of agriculture in Africa and the special partnership of the EU and Cape Verde. The ministers will also tackle the EU’s development policy issues related to the common EU-Africa Strategy.
Further information: Helena Tuuri, State Under-Secretary for EU Affairs, Government Secretariat for EU Affairs, tel. +358 9 1602 2182, +358 40 553 3494; Anne Huhtamäki, Counsellor, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6097, +358 40 546 0456; information on the Development Ministers’ Council meeting: Anne Ahonen, Counsellor, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6282, +358 40 506 9870, and information on the Defence Ministers’ Council meeting: Mari Eteläpää, Head of Unit, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 9 1608 8135