The multi-annual arrangement is the preferred option and it is extremely useful to have such a recommendation made here. We all know that would be the best way of doing things. In the short time allowed to me it is not possible to give a detailed outline of the whole programme. Instead I will dwell on the issue of HIV and AIDS, which merits huge attention. It will be a central development issue in our EU Presidency and has been referred to by a number of Senators. As the world enters the third decade of the AIDS epidemic, which has rightly been called a pandemic, the evidence of its impact is compelling. Dozens of countries are already in the grip of the disease and many more are threatened by it. More than 3 million lives were lost to AIDS last year and 5 million people acquired the human immune deficiency virus, bringing to 42 million the number of people living with the virus around the world. Over the next decade, without effective treatment and care, they will join the ranks of the 20 million who have already died of AIDS. Enabling those who have not yet acquired the virus to protect themselves against HIV, and providing adequate and affordable treatment and care to people living with the virus, represent two of the biggest challenges we face.