EU General Affairs Council (Hansard, 11 December 1997)

§ Mr. Doug Henderson

At the General Affairs Council in Brussels on 8 December, the seven A points in document 13048/97 were approved, and the European Parliament Resolutions of 17–21 November in document 11493/97 were noted. The text of both documents will be placed in the Libraries of the House as soon as they become available.

Policy planning unit 1. The Council requested Coreper and the Political Committee to continue discussion on the design of the Policy Planning Unit.

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OSCE: Copenhagen Ministerial 2. Denmark reported on prospects for the OSCE Ministerial meeting later this month, in particular the security charter and prospects for OSCE financial reform.

WT0: Financial services 3. The Council discussed prospects for reaching agreement on the financial services negotiations by the 12 December deadline.

Transatlantic relations 4. There were brief reports on the EU-US and EU-Canada Summits which took place in Washington and Ottawa on 5 and 4 December respectively.

Illegal immigration from Iraq 5. The Council discussed measures to counter the recent rise in illegal immigration from northern Iraq, which is presenting problems for a number of EU partners. The Political Committee will assess the situation in northern Iraq. Work on practical steps to stem the flow of illegal immigrants will be taken forward by the K4 Committee on 18 December.

Luxembourg European Council 6. The Presidency set out the agenda for the European Council on 12–13 December. There was a brief discussion.

Enlargement/agenda 2000 7. This formed the main part of the Council's discussions. Member States broadly endorsed the Presidency's report to the Luxembourg Council. However, differences remained concerning the screening process and the creation of a new 15 plus 11 process. The UK supported by Italy, France and the Netherlands spoke against both proposals. The Swedes and Danes supported screening, Germany continued to favour the 15 plus 11 process. The Presidency concluded that it would submit the report to the European Council on its own authority.

EU/Mexico: Signature of agreements 8. In the margins, the EU and Mexico signed two agreements which establish a framework for closer relations into the next century. The Foreign Secretary signed the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement—which covers areas of both Uk and EU competence—on behalf of the UK. The Mexican Foreign and Trade Ministers attended.

ASEM II 9. The GAC adopted the following conclusions: the Council discussed preparations for ASEM II to be held in London in April 1998 and invited the appropriate instances to take forward work in advance of the next ASEM Senior Officials Meeting in London in February.

Any other business: EU/Japan summit 10. As incoming Presidency, the UK informed Member States of plans for the EU/Japan Summit on 12 January 1998.