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Preparations for the Development Council

Summary: November 8, 2001: Statement by Mr. Michael Curtis on behalf of the European Union. Preparations for the Development Council (Brussels)

Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson, will represent the European Commission at the Development Council, which takes place in Brussels starting at 10h on Thursday 8 November. This meeting follows an informal working meeting, which took place on 10 October following the events of 11 September. The Belgian State Secretary of Development, Mr. Eddy Boutmans, will chair the Council. It will be divided into distinct morning and afternoon sessions thus giving a more structured format for substantive discussions. Two main themes will be dealt with in the morning session. These are the 'Implementation of Community Development policy' and the 'Challenges for Development Assistance in Today's World'. These themes are subdivided into a series of sub-items, which are outlined below. The afternoon session will be devoted to the adoption of various sets of development related Conclusions and Resolutions and the discussion on the results of Conferences held during the Belgian Presidency.

The pre-Council dinner will take place in the presence of James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank. Ministers are expected to discuss the consequences of the events of 11 September on developing countries.


1. Implementation of Community Development Policy

In October this year, the Commission adopted its First annual report on Community Development policy. This will be presented by Mr. Nielson and is expected to be the focus of a major debate. A separate document outlining progress in the reform of the Commission's external assistance programmes will also be presented. Both these documents were the subject of a technical briefing by the Commission on 25 October and are available on request by e-mail (britta.borum@cec.eu.int). The Commission will also outline what Member States can do further to support the reform process. Following the debate, the Council is expected to adopt conclusions

The Council is likely to adopt conclusions on the sub-item Contribution to the Orientation Debate of the General Affairs Council on EC external aid which will feed into the discussion in the GAC due to take place in February 2002.

The third and final sub-item, on the agenda at the request of the British delegation, will be a discussion on a New Strategy for Asia. The Commission will present the Communication (COM (2001) 469 final) it adopted on 4 September 2001 called 'Europe and Asia: A strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnership.'


2. The Challenges for Development Assistance in Today's World

The events of 11 September have affected the whole world and in turn demand a response from everyone. Contributing to development and promoting a stable and democratic environment are key to peace and security in the world. Efforts have to be re-doubled to fight poverty. In the next year, there will be a number of key opportunities to promote a 'global deal' between developed and developing countries. Several meetings, including Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg, will help define the framework for this deal. The Commission's aim is not just to re-affirm the development goals set at international level but to promote the taking of concrete steps by the Community and Member States to attain them. It is in this context that the Council will deal with the different agenda points of this theme. Regarding the Preparation of the United Nations Financing for Development Conference, which will take place in Monterrey, Mexico from 18-22 March 2002, the Commission will be pushing for progress here for what is an important staging post for the Johannesburg World Summit. In particular, the Commission will be working to counter the decline in aid flows and to meet internationally agreed targets if world poverty is to be halved by 2015. The objective of the Commission would be to go to Monterrey with commitments for increasing ODA in line with the conclusions of the Gothenburg European Council where the Union reaffirmed its commitment to reach the UN target for ODA of 0.7% of GDP as soon as possible. Mr. Nielson will restate the importance of increasing aid flows if the goals set by the Millennium summit are to be attained. Council is likely to adopt Conclusions on the Financing for Development Conference and the Johannesburg World Summit.


3. Adoption of Conclusions or Resolutions for:
The Council will adopt a resolution welcoming the Commission Staff Working Paper sent to the Council in August 2001. It will encourage the Commission to continue to increase the poverty focus of EC development policy in line with the joint Council and Commission statement adopted at the Development Council in November 2000 and suggests a number of ways in which this can be done.
In November 2000, the Commission presented a Communication on Fisheries and Poverty Reduction (COM (2000) 724). The Council is expected to adopt a Resolution welcoming the Communication and endorsing the Commission's objective of improving coherence of fisheries policy and poverty reduction in developing countries. The Resolution is likely to set out a series of guidelines for taking account of fisheries in development policy and development objectives into account in the Common Fisheries Policy.
The Council is expected to adopt Conclusions welcoming the Commission Communication from March 2001 and recognizing the important work undertaken by the Commission in this area. The Council will call for implementation of the Plan, stressing that it should be seen in the context of EC development policy and the implementation of international development targets to reduce poverty by at least half before 2015, which include the implementation of national strategies for sustainable development by 2005.
Again, following on from a Commission Communication adopted in June 2001, the Council is expected to adopt Conclusions that welcome the prioritization of positive actions proposed by the Commission to integrate gender concerns into development co-operation. The Conclusions agree with the strategy proposed by the Commission and address different aspects including measuring progress and follow-up.
A Council resolution is likely to be adopted calling for an evaluation of the development education component of the EC co-financing budget line with NGOs.


4. Results of Conferences on:
The Presidency will inform Council of the results of these two conferences, held respectively on 6-7 July and 1-2 October 2001.


5. Other Business

Belgium has requested that the Ministers discuss Climate Change. While there will be no conclusions on this point, Ministers are expected to confirm their commitments in this field.


  • Ref: EC01-082EN
  • EU source: European Commission
  • UN forum: 
  • Date: 8/11/2001


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