Finland's EU Presidency: Newsletter 16/2006
13 Nov 2006, 08:39
GENERAL AFFAIRS AND EXTERNAL RELATIONS COUNCIL (GAERC) ON 13 AND 14 NOVEMBER
The EU Foreign Ministers will hold a meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) in Brussels on Monday, 13 and Tuesday, 14 November. The Ministers of Defence will also meet as part of the Council. In addition, there will also be a joint session of the Foreign and Defence Ministers. The general affairs discussion will focus on enlargement and preparations for the European Council meeting in December.
The Ministers of Defence will deal with issues relating to European defence and security policy. In the field of external relations, the Ministers will discuss the Western Balkans, the People's Democratic Republic of Congo, the Middle East Peace Process and Iran. The Council will be chaired by the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Erkki Tuomioja. The Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Paula Lehtomäki, and the Minister of Defence, Seppo Kääriäinen, will also attend.
A lunch for Ministers of European Affairs will also be organised as part of the Council. The Ministers will discuss EU communication policy on the basis of the Commission's White Paper, and events to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome in 2007.
Open session of the Council and press conferences will be webcast and can be viewed live or later as recordings at www.eu2006.fi. Press conferences are scheduled to begin at 15.45 (Foreign Ministers), 16.15 (Ministers of Defence) and 20.30 (EU-Armenia, EU-Azerbaijan and EU-Georgia) on Monday, 13 November, and at 11.30 (EU-South Africa) and 15.30 (EU-Jordan) on Tuesday, 14 November. Open session of the Council is scheduled to begin at 10.30 on Monday. All times are provisional, GMT+1, Brussels time.
www.eu2006.fi/calendar/vko46/1147786581494/
EDUCATION, YOUTH AND CULTURE (EYC) COUNCIL ON 13 AND 14 NOVEMBER
The Education, Youth and Culture (EYC) Council convenes in Brussels on 13 and 14 November and brings together ministers from all three areas. The Council will be chaired by Minister of Education Antti Kalliomäki, Minister of Culture Tanja Saarela, and Minister of Transport and Communications Susanna Huovinen.
The Council is due to decide on the general approach to be used for the draft directive amending the "Television Without Frontiers" Directive. It will also adopt conclusions on the digitisation and online accessibility of cultural material and on digital preservation, as well as a decision on the European Capital of Culture event for 2010.
The Council will hold an exchange of views on better understanding and knowledge of youth. In the educational field, it will adopt conclusions on future priorities for European cooperation on vocational education and training (VET), and on efficiency and equity in education and training. It will also hold an exchange of views on modernising higher education in Europe.
Open sessions of the Council and press conferences will be webcast and can be viewed live or later as recordings at www.eu2006.fi. Press conferences are scheduled to begin at 14.30 and 18.00 on Monday, 13 November, and at 13.15 on Tuesday, 14 November. Open sessions are scheduled to begin at 11.30 on Monday 13 November and at 9.30 on Tuesday. All times are provisional, GMT+1, Brussels time.
www.eu2006.fi/calendar/vko46/en_GB/1147787126723/
EU-WESTERN BALKANS MINISTERIAL FORUM IN TIRANA, ALBANIA, ON 17 NOVEMBER
The EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum will be held in Tirana, Albania, on 17 November 2006. This will be the first time that the JHA EU-Western Balkans Forum, agreed on in the Thessalonica agenda, will be held in the Western Balkan region. The decision was taken to hold the Forum in Albania with the intention of increasing the EU's visibility in the field of justice and home affairs in the region and strengthening cooperation between the EU and the Western Balkans. As the Presidency country, Finland will organise the Forum in cooperation with Albania.
From the West Balkans, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia will be represented at the Forum. Kosovo will be represented by UNMIK (the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo) but Kosovo's new Interior and Justice Ministers have also been invited. The Forum will be chaired by Finnish Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki and Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen. For the Commission, Vice-President Franco Fratini, responsible for justice, freedom and security, will attend.
Topics on the agenda will include the annual assessment of the Specific Action Oriented Measures against Organised Crime. Effective protection of witnesses will also be among the topics to be raised for discussion.
www.eu2006.fi/calendar/vko46/en_GB/1162284923521/
CONSPECTUS RERUM LATINUS
The next Latin news-in-brief will be issued on Wednesday, 15 November.
NEWSLETTERS
The next newsletter will be issued on Monday, 20 November.
