Description of the Liaison Office of the Council Secretariat of the EU in Geneva

Sumario: Liaison Office of the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU in Geneva (27 April 2007)

Head of the Office: Guus Houttuin

The Geneva Liaison Office was set up in the late 60s. During the early days of its existence negotiations within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) constituted the main activity of the Office. Since then, the role of the Office has increased and changed considerably, in particular since the introduction of the Union's new Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The entire range of the Geneva-based international organizations is now important to the European Union, and in particular:

• UN issues within the scope of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (such as the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Conference on Disarmament);

• UN issues within the scope of the EC Treaty (such as human health (WHO), social policy (ILO), development (UNCTAD) and immigration and asylum (HCR);

• the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The mission statement of the Liaison Office can be summarized as follows: It serves the EU Council of Ministers, that is all 27 Member States, with, obviously, particular duties towards the EU Presidency. The Liaison Office facilitates the numerous coordination activities in Geneva. At EU coordination meetings (on average more than 1000 per year) so-called common positions are reached which allow the EU to negotiate as a single entity in international fora and to speak with one voice, either through the Commission or through the Presidency, according to the distribution of competences laid down in the Treaties. The Liaison Office also has the "classical" function of a representation to international organizations, namely that of a UN/WTO antenna for the Council of Ministers and the European Union's High Representative, Javier Solana, keeping Brussels abreast of developments in Geneva and acting within the UN system, on instructions from Brussels.

Ref: CLG07-001EN
Fuente UE: Consejo
Foro NU:
Fecha: 27/4/2007

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