Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Mar 2003

Vol. 562 No. 5

Written Answers - EU Foreign Ministers.

Seán Ryan

Ceist:

201 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the matters discussed and conclusions reached at the meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Brussels on 24 February, in particular the discussions that took place with regard to the Iraqi crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6437/03]

Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Ceist:

202 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the recent meeting of the EU General Affairs Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6524/03]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 201 and 202 together.

I attended the meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on Monday, 24 February. The House may wish to note that in the context of the procedures now in place for enhanced Oireachtas scrutiny of EU business, the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs on 18 February to review the agenda of the Council. The summary of the Council's conclusions prepared by its secretariat has been forwarded in the usual way by my Department to the committee for information.

During the external relations session, the Council discussed the Wider Europe – New Neighbourhood initiative in the context of the enlarged Union's relations with its future neighbours. The Council noted that a communication from the Commission on this subject would be available for the next meeting of GAERC. Mini sters also held discussions on EU-Russia relations, ahead of the EU-Russia summit scheduled for 31 May.

Under the ESDP item the Council heard a report from High Representative Solana on the envisaged takeover by the EU of the international military presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also heard a report on progress achieved in preparations for the takeover by the EU of the military operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Council also assessed the state of play in the implementation of the ABerlin Plus permanent arrangements between the EU and NATO and noted that the main elements had been concluded.

The Council reviewed the most recent developments in the western Balkans, including the recent application by Croatia to join the European Union. Under any other business, the Netherlands as OSCE chairman-in-office expressed its interest in the OSCE co-ordinating views and activities with the EU.

Over lunch, Ministers discussed the Middle East and Iraq, with the President of the Arab League, Mr. Hammoud and Secretary General, Mr. Moussa. On the Middle East, Ministers reaffirmed the importance of invigorating the peace process, as well as their support for early implementation of the road map endorsed by the Quartet. On Iraq, they assessed recent developments and the outlook for the coming days and reaffirmed that full co-operation by Iraq on disarmament in accordance with UNSCR 1441 was an urgent objective shared by all. They agreed on the importance of renewing the intercultural dialogue of civilisations.

During its general affairs session the Council heard a progress report from Vice-President Dehaene on developments in the convention on the future of Europe. This was followed by a discussion on the annotated draft agenda for the spring European Council, due to be held in Brussels on 21 March. Substantive preparation will take place at the Council's next meeting on 18-19 March. The Council also took note of a presentation by Commissioner Barnier on the second interim report on economic and social cohesion in the Union. It was agreed that Ministers would revisit the matter at the Council's meeting on 17-18 June.