Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 62: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the 23 May 2005 meeting of the EU foreign Ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18641/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The General Affairs and External Relations Council met in Brussels on 23-24 May. The May meeting is traditionally attended also by Ministers for Defence for an exchange of views on developments in European Security and Defence Policy. Moreover, the second day of the Council was devoted to development issues as is the practice once during each Presidency. I attended the Council, accompanied by the Minister for Defence and the Minister of State with responsibility for development co-operation and human rights.

In the general affairs part of the meeting, the Presidency presented the first draft of the annotated agenda for the June European Council. Ministers will examine this in more detail at the next meeting of the Council on 13-14 June. The main external relations item on the European Council agenda is expected to be preparation of the EU position for the September high level summit at the United Nations. In this context, I briefed my colleagues on my most recent consultations in my role as special envoy for UN reform.

Under the external relations agenda, the Council discussed a wide range of issues and adopted conclusions in relation to European Security and Defence Policy, Uzbekistan and Sudan. Foreign Ministers and Development Co-operation Ministers considered jointly the follow-up to the EU action plan on the Asian tsunami.

Development Co-operation Ministers discussed the millennium development coals including the EU contribution to the high level event in New York in September 2005; the action programme against HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria 2007-11; and the revision of the development co-operation policy statement. Conclusions were adopted on the first two of these items.

On the eve of the Council, the Presidency arranged a meeting of Foreign Ministers to discuss the future financial perspectives for the period 2007-13. We have entered an intensive phase of this very important negotiation. I emphasised our continued support for generous cohesion arrangements for the poorest member states, including in particular for our new partners. At the same time, I argued that our own regions should continue to receive appropriate assistance. I also used the occasion to stress once again that the October 2002 agreement on the financing of the Common Agricultural Policy must be respected.

Before attending the Council, I, along with the Minister for Defence and the Minister of State with responsibility for development co-operation and human rights, met with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs for a detailed exchange of views on the agenda. As there did not prove to be sufficient time to consider fully the development issues at that meeting, the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, met the committee at its invitation on 25 May 2005 to debrief its members on the outcome of the GAERC.