General Affairs Council (Hansard, 4 June 1998)

§ Mr. Doug Henderson

The General Affairs Council met in Brussels on 25 May. The Council adopted the A Points, and noted the European Parliament Resolutions of 29–30 April and 2 May listed in document 8115/98. A copy will be placed in the House Library as soon as it becomes available.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary provided a Presidency progress report on Agenda 2000 negotiations. Foreign Ministers set out their positions on a wide range of issues. The GAC agreed the proposed outline of the structure for a draft report to Cardiff. Foreign Ministers also agreed that COREPER should report back to the next GAC on how to respond to the latest letter from EP President Gil-Robles about European Parliament involvement.

The Council reached agreement on the text of the EU Code of Conduct for arms exports, which will be formally adopted at a future Council meeting. The Code aims to set high common standards for arms exports from all EU Member States. It develops the EU Common Criteria agreed in 1991 and 1992 and includes a mechanism under which a Member State will have to consult a Partner which has denied a licence for a particular export, before granting an essentially identical licence.

The Council took note of the reports of the EU/US and EU/Canada Summits. It agreed that the EU/US Summit, which made substantial progress towards resolving the problems of US sanctions legislation and endorsed the Transatlantic Economic Partnership, represented an important step.

The Council agreed a Declaration condemning the Indian nuclear tests and setting out the steps India has to take to rejoin the mainstream of international efforts on non-proliferation.

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The Council underlined EU support for Indonesia, called on President Habibie to continue political reform, welcomed the release of two political prisoners and called on the Indonesian authorities to cooperate constructively with the efforts under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General on East Timor.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary briefed partners on his visit to Ankara on 19 May, and reported Turkey's decision not to attend the Association Council which had been planned for 25 May.

The Council discussed preparations for the ad hoc meeting of Euro-Mediterranean Foreign Ministers in Palermo on 3–4 June. This should give renewed impetus to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and prepare the ground for the third Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference in Stuttgart in April 1999. The Council endorsed the Presidency's handling, and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the meeting is a success.

The Council took note of developments in the Middle East Peace Process in the light of on-going US efforts. The French Foreign Minister briefed colleagues on the Franco-Egyptian "Call for Peace".

The Council heard a report from Mr. Felipe Gonzalez, the EU and OSCE Special Representative from the FRY. It noted with concern recent developments in the FRY affecting the freedom of the media. It welcomed the opening of a dialogue between Belgrade and the leadership of the Kosovar Albanian community, while expressing grave concern about the escalating violence in the province. It underlined the need for the parliamentary elections in Montenegro on 31 May to be free and fair and for their results to be respected by all.

The Council agreed to consider on 29 June whether Croatia should continue to benefit from Autonomous Trade Measures in the light of that country's performance on refugee returns and other important issues such as democratisation and independent media.

The Council endorsed the principle of financial support for Azerbaijan (beyond that provided under TACIS), as proposed by the Commission, subject to technical examination by Financial Counsellors.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary drew attention to the EU/Russia Summit (15 May) and reported on the outcome of the G8 Birmingham Summit.