Foreign Ministers prepare for EU-United States Summit
Government Communications Unit
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Press release 108/2007
The EU’s General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) will meet on 23 April in Luxembourg. Minister for Foreign Affairs Ilkka Kanerva and Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will represent Finland at the GAERC meeting.
The Council is preparing for the EU-US Summit to be held on 30 April in Washington, the key themes of which are improving economic cooperation and climate and energy policy. The Summit is intended to issue a public statement concerning economic cooperation, climate and energy policy and foreign and security policy issues.
The Foreign Ministers will discuss the Union’s guidelines regarding Central Asia policy. The comprehensive regional strategy covers all five Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. The EU has decided to activate its relations with the region. An aid strategy for Central Asia was completed during Finland’s Presidency in autumn 2006.
The Council will address the Darfur situation in Sudan. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan Jan Eliasson will be present when this issue is handled. Finland supports the efforts of the EU, UN and African Union to intensify broad-based political dialogue with the Sudanese government and between the Sudanese government and other parties in the Darfur crisis. Finland’s position is that the UN support for the African Union’s AMIS peacekeeping operation must be increased.
The Foreign Ministers will also discuss the situation in the Middle East. The formation of a Palestinian national unity government and the peace initiative adopted at the Arab League Summit in March are indications of positive development. All Middle Eastern parties should now be encouraged towards constructive activities.
Other issues include an overview of WTO negotiations and the situation in Iran, Zimbabwe and Somalia. Finland hopes to see the WTO talks continue as soon as possible. Also on the agenda are preparations for the Joint Ministerial Meeting between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council to be held in Riyadh on 8 May and discussions of the EU’s global campaign against the death penalty in the UN, which was launched in March.
Further information: Anne Huhtamäki, Counsellor, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6097 or +358 40 546 0456