General Affairs Council, Brussels, 24 February (Hansard, 28 February 1997)

§ Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

Twenty three of the 25 A Points in document 6052/97, the text of which will be placed in the House as soon as it is available, were approved. They included the decision to sign an interim association agreement and joint statement on political dialogue with the PLO. Denmark entered waiting reserves on two points; an EU/Mexico agreement on control of precursors and maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin.

The Council noted the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament listed on Documents 5091/97 and 5094/97. Copies of these documents will also be placed in the House as soon as they are available.

The Commission and Presidency gave an oral presentation to the Council on the preparations of the second meeting of Foreign Ministers within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, which will be held in Malta on 15 and 16 April. The Council underlined the importance of the Malta meeting as an opportunity to take stock of progress and to set priorities for the future. The Council 113WA welcomed the signature of the EC/PLO Interim European Union and the Republic of South Africa through the establishment of a long-term framework of co-operation that will assist South Africa during and beyond its current transitional phase. The Council noted the resumption of negotiations in January 1997 and will consider taking advantage of the facilitating clause of article 364 of the revised Lomé IV Convention, which would allow early accession without further ratification. The Council recalled its commitment that the qualified accession of South Africa to the Lomé convention will not negatively affect the interests of the current ACP membership.

The Council discussed the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT) mid term review but were unable to reach agreement. The Council concluded that they would return to this at a future meeting.

The Council called for an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian purposes in the Great Lakes region and reaffirmed the European Union's support for regional efforts to find a political solution and for the democratisation process in Zaire, noting the appointment of the Portuguese nominee Mr. Vasconcelos as head of the electoral unit in Kinshasa. It also asked for the political committee to examine the scope for a regional arms embargo. The Council welcomed the five point plan contained in UN Security Council Resolution 1097 and the appointment of Mr. Mohammed Sahnoun as UN/OAU Special Representative to the Great Lakes region. It supported the efforts of African leaders, in particular President Mandela and welcomed their decision to hold a regional summit on 12 March in Nairobi.

The Council discussed the economic situation in the Balkans, in particular the difficulties of the countries in transition in south eastern Europe and noted the measures already taken by the European Commission to alleviate the consequences of the current crisis in Bulgaria. The Council agreed to follow the situation closely.

The Council had an exchange of views on Albania and the possibilities for the Union to contribute to a solution to the present crisis. The Council agreed that a joint senior officials' mission with the European Commission would deliver a message reporting its concerns to the Albanian Government and the opposition leadership.

The Council discussed the situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in light of the fact-finding mission carried out by the Presidency and the Commission in Belgrade on 20 February 1997. While acknowledging that the results of the elections of 17 November 1996 have been implemented, the Council reiterated the need to implement the remaining parts of the Gonzalez report; the opening of a dialogue with the opposition on free access to the media and reform of the electoral law. The Council expressed concern about the situation in Kosovo and called upon the authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to co-operate in the early implementation of a visit to the region by the special representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Mr. Van der Stoel, and the 114WA chairman of the working group on ethnic and national communities and minorities, Ambassador Lutz. The Council agreed to return to these issues at its next session.

The Council underlined the importance of implementing the decision on Brcko and expressed its full support for the High Representative in this context. Recalling the importance of the regional approach, the Council welcomed the European Commission's report on the practical application of conditionality and called for relevant Council bodies to continue to examine this principle in preparation for further discussion at the next General Affairs Council.

The Council noted the report of the fact-finding mission to Belarus and agreed with its recommendations. It asked the head of the mission, Mr. Kosto, to pass the report's contents to Mr. Lukashenko, President of Belarus.

The Council discussed human rights in China and reaffirmed its willingness to continue a dialogue with China on this issue. The Council hoped progress would be achieved. Meanwhile, it invited the Presidency to continue and intensify, in close co-operation with others, consultations and preparations already underway for the possible tabling of a resolution on human rights in China in the UN Commission for Human Rights in Geneva. A decision will be taken in the light of the development of the situation.

Under any other business, the Commission's paper on preferential trade agreements was raised. The Council noted this for discussion at the March General Affairs Council.

The 10th Ministerial meeting of the Intergovernmental Conference was held on the afternoon of Monday 24 February. As usual it was preceded by an exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament. The Presidency text on justice and home affairs was discussed. We made clear that practical co-operation was what was needed, not institutional change, and that no added value was to be had from extending the role of Community institutions and procedures in the third pillar. We emphasised the progress that had been made in the third pillar during the last five years, and the need to build on this.