§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a statement of forthcoming business in the European Community's Council of Ministers.
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§ Mr. Garel-JonesThe Foreign Affairs Council will meet on 3 February. It will consider the next stages on the European economic area in the light of discussions between the Commission and the European Free Trade Association over how to resolve the problems resulting from the European Court of Justice opinion. The Council will discuss follow-up to the Washington conference on aid to the former Soviet Union, and consider ways to develop the Community's relations with the former republics. The Council will discuss whether trade and co-operation agreements should be negotiated with Brazil and the Andean pact. A European Community trade and co-operation agreement with Paraguay will be signed in the margins. The Council will also consider policy towards Haiti following the coup. The Council will also discuss conciliation procedures on Asia/Latin America and European Community investment partners with a delegation from the European Parliament. The Commission will make a presentation on export controls on dual use goods.
The Economic and Finance Council will meet on 10 February. Ministers will consider multilateral surveillance of the economies of member states, including the Irish convergence programme, and also the formal adoption of the Commission's annual economic report. The Council will also consider aid to central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The Council may also consider the revision to the financial perspective for 1992, the investment services directive; and the legislative programme relating to economic and monetary union arising from the treaty on European union. Ministers may also formally adopt the legal text of the draft directive on the commercial movement of excise goods in the single market which they agreed at the Economic and Finance Council on 16 December 1991. It is also expected that Ministers will formally adopt a new regulation for enhanced administrative cooperation between member states. This will provide for the automatic exchange of information between EC tax authorities.
The Agriculture Council will meet on 10 and 11 February. Ministers will discuss reform of the common agricultural policy, agricultural aspects of the GATT Uruguay round, public health problems affecting the killing of wild game and the marketing of wild game meat.
The Internal Market Council will meet on 25 February. Ministers may consider the final adoption of the public procurement directive for remedies in the utilities sectors, and the adoption of common positions on the third non-life insurance directive. Consolidation directives on tractors and on units of measurement, and a directive on veterinary homeopathic medicines will also be discussed by Ministers. There may also be further ministerial discussions on frontier controls, and draft legislation on data protection, precursor chemicals, food colourings and food irradiation.