§ Mr. SpringTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 23 May 2002,Official Report, column 528W, on the EU meeting at Brussels, if he will make a statement on the nature and aim of the substantive contribution by relevant council bodies on the EU's role in the World Summit on Sustainable Development process; and if he will list the bodies involved in making that contribution. [61403]
§ Peter HainThe Seville European Council is the opportunity for the EU to finalise its preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The European Council Conclusions should set out major EU priorities for Johannesburg, focusing on poverty eradication and key initiatives such as freshwater and sanitation, and sustainable energy.
The Development Council, General Affairs Council and Seville European Council are all involved in producing the Conclusions, incorporating contributions from ECOFIN, the Environment Council and Article 133 Committee on trade. The Development Council of 30 May has for example already agreed substantive Conclusions setting out key priorities for action that the EU would like to be taken up at WSSD and detailing the external dimension of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy. Copies of these are available on the EU Council of Ministers website at http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/dev/70867.pdf.