EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the appointment of Pekka Haavisto as European Union Special Representative
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Press release 229/2005
15 July, 2005
The EU General Affairs and External Relations Council meets in Brussels on Monday, 18 July. The Council will discuss, e.g., the appointment of Pekka Haavisto as European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Sudan. Minister for Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja, will represent Finland at the meeting.
The former Finnish Minister of the Environment, Pekka Haavisto, is to be appointed as European Union Special Representative for Sudan. The EU Foreign Ministers will make a decision on the appointment at the Council meeting on Monday. Haavisto would be a second Finn serving as EU Special Representative among the current eight special representatives. Heikki Talvitie represents the Union in the South Caucasus.
The EUSR's mandate will be to monitor the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that was signed in January and the development of the situation in Darfur. The EUSR will also coordinate the Union's assistance to the African Union mission in the Darfur region, participate as the EU's representative in peace negotiations and follow the human rights situation in Sudan. He will liaise with the other national and international actors in the region, including the African Union, the United Nations and Sudanese parties. The EUSR will regularly report to the EU Political and Security Committee and High Representative Javier Solana under whose authority and operational direction he will work.
The duration of the mandate is six months. The mandate can be prolonged. The EU has actively contributed to the settlement of the Darfur crisis that escalated into open war in February 2003. As of the latter half of 2003, the Union has contributed a total of 570 million euros to Darfur.
The United Kingdom, the country currently holding the EU Presidency, will present the Council its proposals with regard to the financial framework and Constitutional Treaty. The ministers are also likely to discuss fight against terrorism. The UK will also provide further information on the informal meeting of the Heads of State or Government that will take place in October and focus on the future of Europe and the European Social Model.
In the context of enlargement, the Council will discuss the state of affairs with regard to opening accession talks with Croatia and Turkey. The opening of accession talks with Croatia was postponed as of March 2005 as the country's cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY, was not considered sufficient. Finland's opinion is that accession talks cannot be opened before there is full cooperation with ICTY. Evaluations concerning Croatia's cooperation must be based on ICTY's assessments.
Olli Rehn, Member of the European Commission, will present a draft General EU Position for the accession negotiations with Turkey. The Council must adopt the position prior to the opening of negotiations on 3 October. The draft is based on the framework for negotiations adopted for Croatia earlier this year. The Council is not to discuss the draft. Finland's aim is to reach a clear and coherent framework. It should only contain issues that are relevant to the negotiations.
The Council will discuss the situation in Syria and Lebanon. The discussion will be based on a report by the United Nations Special envoy, Terje Röd-Larsen. The Council is to adopt conclusions that will express support to the work of Special envoy Röd-Larsen, condemn the recent bomb attacks in Lebanon and call on all parties for the implementation of the UN resolution on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon. The EU urges Syria to show willingness for cooperation as regards situations in Lebanon and Iraq.
The Foreign Ministers will prepare the EU-China Summit which will be organised on 5 September in Beijing. The Summit will aim to strengthen strategic partnership among the EU and China. The Council is likely to attach particular attention to issues relating to climate change and energy security which will be the subjects of a joint declaration by the EU and China. The Summit will discuss issues regarding trade and investments, security and stability, science and technology, and human rights. Issues relating to climate change and energy will occupy a prominent role on the agenda of the next ASEM Summit that will be held in Finland in 2006.
In the context of external relations, the Council will discuss the UN Summit in September, Middle East Peace Process, Iran, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe. In addition, Estonia will draw attention to the present state of affairs with regard to the ratification of a frontier agreement between Estonia and Russia.
Further information: Laura Aho, Counsellor, Government Secretariat for EU Affairs, tel. +358 9 1602 2150 and Markku Keinänen, Head of Unit, Department for Europe, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6546