Date: 10 Jul 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Ministers at the European Parliament
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
Presentation of the Presidency Programme by Hannes Manninen, Minister of Regional and Municipal Affairs
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Date: 27 Nov 2006 – 28 Nov 2006 Venue:
Tampere Hall, Tampere
Type of event: Informal ministerial meetings
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
The meeting of EU Foreign Ministers with their Mediterranean counterparts (from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunis, Turkey and the Palestinian Administration) will discuss key issues related to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. The Foreign Ministers’ follow-up meeting, convening every 18 months, is the most important institution in the so-called Barcelona Process.
Links:
European Comission: EU – Mediterranean Partnership
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Ministers at the European Parliament
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
Presentation of the Presidency Programme by Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
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Date: 11 Jul 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Ministers at the European Parliament
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
Presentation of the Presidency Programme by Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
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Date: 13 Nov 2006 – 14 Nov 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Council meetings
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meets once a month bringing together the EU Foreign Ministers. Ministers responsible for European affairs, defence, development or trade may also attend the meetings, depending on the items on agenda. In addition to the Union’s external relations, the Council coordinates the work of the other Council formations, prepares for European Council meetings, and attends to institutional matters and issues concerning enlargement. During its Presidency, Finland will hold five GAERC meetings and they will be chaired by Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja, or Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Paula Lehtomäki.
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Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
Links:
The Council of the European Union
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Date: 12 Jul 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Ministers at the European Parliament
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
Presentation of the Presidency Programme by Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
Date: 12 Jul 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Ministers at the European Parliament
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
Presentation of the Presidency Programme by Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Foreign Affairs
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Date: 17 Jul 2006 – 18 Jul 2006 Venue:
Brussels
Type of event: Council meetings
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meets once a month bringing together the EU Foreign Ministers. Ministers responsible for European affairs, defence, development or trade may also attend the meetings, depending on the items on agenda. In addition to the Union’s external relations, the Council coordinates the work of the other Council formations, prepares for European Council meetings, and attends to institutional matters and issues concerning enlargement. During its Presidency, Finland will hold five GAERC meetings and they will be chaired by Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja, or Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Paula Lehtomäki.
Further information
Policy area: General Affairs and External Relations
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The General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) meets once a month, bringing together the Foreign Ministers of Member States. Ministers responsible for European Affairs, Development or Trade also participate, depending on the items on the agenda. The Defence Ministers also meet once per Presidency term within the framework of the GAERC. In addition to the European Union’s external affairs, the Council is responsible for co-ordinating the work of the other Council configurations, preparing for meetings of the European Council, and dealing with institutional affairs and enlargement. During Finland’s Presidency, the General Affairs and External Relations Council will hold five meetings, chaired either by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja or Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Paula Lehtomäki. The Defence Ministers’ meeting held within the framework of the GAERC will be chaired by Finland’s Minister of Defence, Seppo Kääriäinen.
At its sessions on external relations, the Council deals with the whole of the Union’s external action. This covers the common foreign and security policy including security and defence policy; trade policy and development policy. One of the Council’s priorities is to ensure coherence in the EU’s external action, in cooperation with the Commission.
Under the common foreign and security policy, the Council adopts Common Positions, Declarations and Joint Actions, for example in relation to EU crisis management operations. The Council also adopts conclusions on the main issues under discussion.
During Finland’s Presidency, topical issues in external affairs include the Western Balkans, Middle East and Iran. Matters relating to the EU’s crisis management capability will also feature prominently. Cooperation between the EU and Russia will be another area of activity; the legal framework governing the relationships between the EU and Russia will be discussed. Regarding the Northern Dimension, the aim is to reach a decision on a new political document to replace the Action Plan that will expire in 2006.
Questions regarding trade and development will be high on the Council’s agenda, for example when the Development Ministers take part in the Council meeting in October. Discussions will also focus on migration and development issues.
Discussions on enlargement will be based on the progress reports which the Commission will produce in the autumn of 2006 on candidate countries and other countries in the Western Balkans. The ways in which external action can support the goals of the energy policy will also be covered.
The informal meeting of the Foreign Ministers (Gymnich) will be held in Lappeenranta at the beginning of September. Relations between the EU and Russia are likely to be among the items discussed. The informal meeting of the Defence Ministers will be held in Levi in October. The intention is to discuss EU crisis management operations, the building of capabilities and improvements in civilian-military co-ordination in EU operations.
In September, the leaders of Asian and European states will come together for the ASEM 6 Summit (Asia-Europe Meeting) in Helsinki. During Finland’s Presidency, there will be six other third-country summits and over 150 meetings between ministers and officials from the EU and third countries. The EU will usually be represented by the Troika, with the Finnish representative chairing the meeting. These meetings will take place in Finland, Brussels or a third country and will cover current issues in global politics.
Events: General Affairs and External Relations
Council of the European Union: General Affairs and External Relations
The Agriculture and Fisheries Council meets once a month. It brings together the Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries and the European Commissioners responsible for agriculture and rural development, fisheries and maritime affairs, as well as health and consumer protection. During its Presidency, Finland will hold five meetings of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, which will be chaired by Juha Korkeaoja, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland.
Agriculture
In agriculture, the focus will be on an innovative, competitive and sustainable European model of agriculture, a model aimed at consolidating the EU’s reformed common agricultural policy and examining its future challenges. Other current topics during Finland’s Presidency include the reform of the wine sector and of the common market organisation for the banana sector. The reform of the legislation on spirit drinks and organic farming will also be on the agenda.
Fisheries
In fisheries, the focus will be on protective measures, improved monitoring arrangements and fishing agreements with third countries. During Finland’s Presidency, the Council will make decisions on Community fishing opportunities. These decisions will include the quotas for specified fish stocks.
Veterinary and plant health
In the veterinary sector, the focus will be on the prevention of animal diseases. Work will also continue on animal welfare measures and issues relating to food safety. Consideration will be given to the Animal Health Policy, protection of chickens kept for meat production and reform of the legislation on pesticides.
Forestry
Forestry issues will be of key importance during Finland’s Presidency and an EU Forest Action Plan is to be drafted to complement the EU Forest Strategy. Forest issues will also be discussed in international forums, particularly at the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF).
The informal meeting of EU ministers of agriculture, to be held in Oulu, Finland, at the end of September, will discuss and assess the European model of agriculture. The focus will be on developments since the reform of the common agricultural policy. The aim is to enhance the policy adopted and examine the challenges that European agriculture will face in the future. During the meeting, participants will have an opportunity to learn about Finnish agriculture and forestry.
The civil servant meetings will be organised in cooperation with the Austrian Presidency. EU Chief Veterinary Officers and Directors for Forestry convened during the Austrian Presidency in the first half of 2006. The Informal Meeting of Directors-General for Fisheries and the Meeting of Directors of the EU Paying Agencies will take place during Finland’s Presidency.
Events: Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Council of the European Union: Agriculture and Fisheries
Activities of the European Union: Agriculture
Activities of the European Union: Fisheries