I am very pleased to be able to attend the committee to discuss the agenda of the forthcoming meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council to take place in Brussels on 19 and 20 May. As is standard, the Council is divided into two sessions, one devoted to general affairs and the other to external relations. I propose to deal with general affairs first, after which I will turn to the external relations agenda. While I do not intend to comment on each agenda item, I am happy to take questions from members of the joint committee on any of them.
On general affairs, there is the issue of preparation for the European Council in Thessaloniki. Beginning with the general affairs agenda, the Council will review preparations for the European Council in Thessaloniki due to be held on 20 and 21 June 2003. At the meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, the Presidency is expected to present an annotated draft agenda for the European Council. The principal item for discussion in Thessaloniki is the European Convention. It is not yet clear how debate on that will be structured at the Council, nor is it clear if either of the convention's vice-presidents will attend. It is not expected that there will be lengthy discussions of the topic. The Council is taking place shortly after the debate in the convention tomorrow and Friday - 15 and 16 May - on the draft articles of the institutions and on external action.
I know that the committee has been following the debate on the convention very closely and that members will already be familiar with its content and with the amendments put forward by the Government. I am also aware that the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, had an extensive discussion with members on those draft articles on Friday, 9 May.
I will now turn to the reform of staff regulations. Discussion of the Commission's proposals to reform the EU staff regulations is continuing. Proposals were tabled by Commissioner Kinnock in April 2002. The debate is focusing on proposals relating to salaries, pensions and career structures. COREPER is meeting today in an effort to make progress before next week's Council. There have been recent signs of advances on what is a complicated file. Ireland has always supported the broad aims of the reform process, which is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and accountability of the Commission. We, like the majority of member states, have raised questions about elements of the Commission's proposals. We will work with partners to reach an agreement as soon as possible, and we will encourage the Presidency to continue its good work towards this objective.
On external relations, Ministers are due to discuss current developments in Iraq and the Middle East peace process over a working lunch. Since the last meeting, the conflict in Iraq has effectively concluded with the collapse of the regime of Saddam Hussein and President Bush has announced the end of major combat operations. The Government welcomed the fact that the conflict had ended after a relatively short period and with casualties lower than some had predicted. Nevertheless, there are continuing reports of isolated incidents of combat and of ongoing disorder in Baghdad and other major cities. The Government has, from the outset, urged all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular their obligations towards the civilian population of Iraq. We welcome the measures being taken to restore order and to facilitate the return of Iraqi police and public servants to their duties.
At the ceremony of the signature of the accession treaty in Athens on 16 and 17 April, the EU Presidency issued a statement on Iraq, welcoming the presence of the UN Secretary General at the ceremony and welcoming his appointment of a special advisor on Iraq. It called on the coalition to ensure that it carried out its responsibilities to provide humanitarian assistance and urgent medical relief and to protect the cultural heritage of Iraq. It called for the UN to be allowed to play a central role in reconstruction and for support from Iraq's neighbours in supporting stability in the country. It reaffirmed the commitment of the EU to assisting in such reconstruction efforts and its commitment to the Middle East peace process. The matter will inevitably be an important agenda item at the coming General Affairs and External Relations Council. The United States has introduced a draft Security Council resolution at the UN in New York. We welcome the fact that this resolution has been tabled and that discussion can now begin in earnest on the wide range of issues which must be addressed in post-war Iraq. The Government hopes that this discussion will lead to greater clarity on issues, such as the role of the UN, including the role of UN weapons inspectors.
At the Council, Ministers will also consider the Middle East peace process. Discussion will cover the response of the parties to the road map and its implementation. Partners who have visited the region recently will brief on their contacts. The Presidency's Foreign Minister, Georges Papandreou, is there at the moment and the EU High Representative, Javier Solana, travelled to the region earlier this week.
After the confirmation of the new Palestinian cabinet by the Palestinian Legislative Council, presentation of the road map occurred on 30 April. The Government welcomes this development, which is a significant step forward. We believe that this initiative offers the greatest hope for some time in the search for peace in the region and we are hopeful that it will bear fruit. To do so, all the parties involved must act to implement the road map comprehensively and we look forward to its immediate implementation.
We have also followed with great interest the visit of US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, to the major players in the region to present the Administration's views on the future and we hope that these efforts to advance the peace process will be successful. The Government continues to support the work of the quartet in its efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.
In accordance with established practice and with the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council, this month's General Affairs and External Relations Council will see EU Foreign and Defence Ministers meeting in joint session on 19 May. Defence Ministers will also attend a capabilities commitment conference in the margins of the Council and will be asked to endorse a declaration on EU military capabilities. Approval will also be sought for the ongoing development of capabilities for EU crisis management operations under the so-called European capabilities action plan, ECAP. The text of the declaration will later be attached to the formal Council conclusions to be adopted during the joint session with Foreign Ministers. Agreed arrangements provide that involvement by member states in these matters should occur on a voluntary basis. This principle will continue to be upheld at next week's Council.
The Council conclusions will also cover civilian aspects of crisis management and conflict prevention. Significant progress has been achieved across the four civilian priority areas - police, rule of law, civilian administration and civil protection. A further report on implementation of the 2001 EU programme for the prevention of violent conflicts is scheduled to be submitted to the Thessaloniki European Council.
Ministers are also likely to note progress achieved in other areas of European security and defence policy, ESDP, including arrangements for rapid response in crisis management circumstances, common training for both civilian and military aspects, desktop-level crisis management exercises and dialogue with Mediterranean partners.
Finally, and following on from the declaration of initial operationality made at the Laeken European Council in December 2001, it is anticipated that the Council will recommend that the European Council declare the EU fully operational in its ability to conduct military crisis management operations. This will be a significant development and reflects the fact that the first operations under ESDP have already commenced. As the committee will be aware, an EU police mission has been under way in Bosnia-Herzegovina since January of this year, while an EU military monitoring and stabilisation operation was launched in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in March.
In view of the central role played by the EU in the promotion of democracy, stability and reform in the western Balkans, the circumstances in the region are a standard agenda item for meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council. The Council is expected to welcome the successful election of Mr. Filip Vujanovic as President of Montenegro on 11 May, following two failed elections in Montenegro in December and February. The Council will also welcome the recent decision by the Supreme Defence Council of Serbia and Montenegro to establish civilian control over the armed forces, which marks a significant step in the reform process of the country.
Progress on economic harmonisation between Serbia and Montenegro will be discussed by Ministers. The Council will also stress the importance it attaches to the full implementation of the framework agreement in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Minister, Deputy Cowen, is in the western Balkans this week to discuss bilateral issues and to prepare for the Irish Presidency of the Council of Ministers. He will meet with senior political figures and representatives of the international community in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The General Affairs and External Relations Council will discuss preparations for the EU-Russia summit in St. Petersburg on 31 May, including EU priorities, and the status of negotiations with Russia on a proposed joint declaration to emerge from the summit. The St. Petersburg summit comes at an important time for EU-Russia relations, in the context of the imminent enlargement of the EU, and the post-Iraq situation. The summit will be an opportunity to set clear directions for the EU-Russia relationship in the years ahead. The Taoiseach will attend the summit and we are working with our EU partners to ensure that it is a success.
The Council will also discuss a range of development co-operation related issues, including the implementation by the EU of the commitments given at the International Conference on Financing for Development in March 2002. The most important of these commitments was that the EU should collectively increase average EU ODA from 0.33% of GNI in 2002 to 0.39% of GNI by 2006. In order to achieve this, member states with ODA levels below 0.33% of GNI will have to increase their ODA levels. Ireland, whose ODA reached 0.41% of GNP, is comfortably above the current EU average.
Ireland has pressed for and strongly supports this monitoring exercise of the Monterey commitments by the Commission. We would hope to continue the exercise during the Irish EU Presidency in 2004 when Ministers should have a further discussion on how we are living up to these vital ODA commitments.
In addition to ODA, the EU made commitments in a number of other areas. At the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting, I will highlight the issue of debt relief and will welcome the Commission's intention of undertaking a detailed analysis of debt sustainability. This is an issue on which Ireland has a detailed policy set out in the debt strategy, which I launched in July last year. We believe that the current international debt relief mechanism, the heavily indebted poor countries initiative, is not resulting in a sustainable exit from the debt treadmill for the world's poorest countries.
I am happy to take questions from members on any of the agenda items listed for discussion at the General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on Monday and Tuesday.