General Affairs Council (Hansard, 21 December 1999)

§ Mr. Vaz

1. The General Affairs Council on 6 and 7 December adopted 25 A points and noted the resolutions, decisions and opinions adopted by the European Parliament in its sessions of 3–4 November (listed in document no 12476/99) and 15–19 November (listed in document no 12791/99). Copies of the documents listing the A points and the resolutions will be placed in the House Libraries.

European Defence Policy

2. The Council agreed two reports by the Presidency for the Helsinki European Council on military and non-military crisis management, as the basis for further work leading to final decisions at the end of 2000. They build on agreement at the Cologne European Council, providing a strong focus on improving capabilities, making clear that the EU will act where the Alliance as a whole is not engaged, providing a solid basis for further development of EU-NATO relations and the involvement of non-EU European NATO Allies; and setting up interim arrangements to take forward detailed work on implementation.

Common Strategies

3. The Council agreed an EU Common Strategy on Ukraine, to be put to Heads of Government at the Helsinki European Council for adoption. It also took note of a Presidency report to the Helsinki European Council on the implementation of the Russia Common Strategy.

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Enlargement

4. The Council had a wide-ranging discussion of enlargement in preparation for the Helsinki European Council. There was wide consensus that the EU should: invite all six further countries (Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania) to open negotiations next year; enhance the principle of "differentiation" within negotiations, so that the best prepared candidates can make progress as fast as they can, based on merit; maintain the momentum of progress with countries already negotiating (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Estonia), by opening all remaining chapters in negotiations as early as possible in 2000; have the institutional reforms necessary for enlargement in place in 2002.

5. Ministers also discussed ideas for the development of EU/Turkey relations.

IGC

6. The Presidency set out the main elements of its preparatory report on the IGC.

Council Reform

7. The Council took note of the Presidency's draft report on reform of the Council of Ministers.

Negotiations on a Development Partnership with ACPs

8. The Council agreed that the volume of the ninth European Development Fund would increase to 13.8 billion Euros, shared among member states on the same basis as for the eighth Fund.

Draft Statute for MEPs

9. The Presidency reported to the Council that negotiations on a Statute for MEPs were moving slowly.

European Parliament Electoral Procedure

10. The Council discussed Common Electoral Principles. No agreement was reached on outstanding issues, notably the enfranchisement of Gibraltar, on which the UK made it clear its intention to comply with the European Court of Human Rights Ruling of 18 February 1999. Other outstanding issues are dates for the next European elections, and provisions to rule out dual mandates in member states.

Chechnya

11. The Council reiterated its deep concern over the intensifying military campaign in Chechnya, in particular the threat to citizens of Grozny. It urged the Russian Government to refrain from using excessive force and to respect the principles of international law.

12. The Council welcomed the Istanbul Summit Declaration. It expected that the Russian Federation would honour fully its commitments there. The Council looked forward to the visit to the region by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office on 14–15 December. It recalled that a political solution was essential and that the OSCE could contribute to that goal. Ministers urged that a dialogue be established with the elected leaders of the North Caucasus, including Chechnya. The Council called upon the Russian government to provide security for humanitarian aid operations os that international aid agencies could help victims of the war.

Western Balkans

13. The Council decided to intensify co-operation with democratic forces in the FRY, including trilateral meetings involving the United States and in the form of task forces or other consultative mechanisms. The Union 497W resolved to maintain or strengthen the sanctions targeted at the regime, while keeping the issue of sanctions under review; and to support measures aimed at alleviating the situation of the people of the FRY. The Council demanded that the blocked oil deliveries be allowed to go through, and denounced the Yugoslav authorities for imposing further suffering on the population. The Council recalled that, while legal responsibility lies with the FRY, it was prepared to examine a possible EU contribution to clearing the Danube on the basis of a concrete proposal by the Danube Commission and an analysis by the European Commission. An extension of the Visa Ban List was agreed.

14. The Council anticipated an early assessment by the Commission of the situation in Montenegro and invited the Commission to submit concrete proposals as soon as possible to meet Montenegro's needs. The Council also welcomed the intention of the Commission to include the fight against organised crime in Kosovo in its year 2000 assistance programme and invited member states to provide bilateral assistance.

15. The Council discussed the forthcoming elections in Croatia and expressed regret that these would not be held on a date corresponding to general European practices.

16. The Council welcomed the positive developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina and looked forward to early implementation of commitments made by the Joint Presidency in New York on 15 December.

17. The Council discussed the recent elections in Macedonia, including re-runs in certain constituencies, and took note of the OSCE/ODIHR assessment that the election process was generally carried out in a satisfactory manner although some irregularities were experienced.

Transparency/Openness

18. The Council welcomed the joint Swedish/Danish initiative to improve transparency and public access to documents into the EU.