§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 26 January 1999,Official Report, column 212, on common foreign and security policy working groups, if he will list the proposals currently under discussion under each subject heading. [76360]
§ Ms QuinThe common foreign and security policy working groups meet on average once a month. The agenda for each working group meeting is wide ranging, covering current issues of concern in the group's area of interest. For example, there were 16 items for discussion on the agenda of the Africa working group this month.
Discussion in working groups looks at current EU policy towards all the major foreign policy issues of the day. Among the items on the agenda for the Africa working group this month were Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Sierra Leone and Rwanda. Major issues in other working groups in recent weeks have been Kosovo, the Russia common strategy, Sudan, East Timor, the Middle East peace process and preparation for the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Agendas can change at short notice, given the fast-moving nature of common foreign and security policy issues.