§ Mr. Wattsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the European Community Development Council on 17 April.
§ Mr. EggarMy right hon. Friend the Minister for Overseas Development represented the United Kingdom. Discussion at the Council centred on the immediate and longer-term prospects for Africa. The Commission reported on the rehabilitation plan for countries affected by famine in 1985 which had been approved by the Council last November; and was commended for the speed with which the programme was being carried out and the high degree of consultation with member states. The Council welcomed a Commission initiative for a coordinated and systematic approach to the problems of environmental degradation in Africa, and invited the Commission to consider with member states how it should be put into effect; and discussed the European Community's approach to the forthcoming Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Africa.
The Council considered the need for reforms in the Community's food aid programme to make it more responsive to emergencies and to increase its effectiveness as an instrument of development. The Commission was asked to bring forward proposals for changes to the relevant Community regulations as soon as possible.
The Council reviewed briefly recent progress in applying food strategies in four African countries; in programming the resources available under the third Lomé convention; in promoting the trade of aid recipient countries; and in giving effect to its previous conclusions on the role of women in development.