Foreign Affairs/General Affairs Councils

David Lidington Excerpts

Tuesday 18th June 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I will attend the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on 24 June and the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 25 June. The Foreign Affairs Council will be chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, and the General Affairs Council will be chaired by the Irish presidency. The meetings will be held in Luxembourg.

Foreign Affairs Council

Western Balkans

At the FAC Ministers will discuss the western Balkans and the Serbia/Kosovo dialogue. Our views are set out in more detail below for the GAC, which will also discuss western Balkans issues.

Eastern Partnership

Ministers will discuss the eastern partnership, looking ahead to November’s eastern partnership summit in Vilnius. We expect the discussion to focus on expectations for the summit, particularly on whether the EU will be able to offer signature of the association agreement with Ukraine, and initialling of association agreements with Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. The UK remains committed to supporting these agreements on the basis of continued irreversible reform.

Southern Neighbourhood

Ministers will discuss the EU’s work in the southern Mediterranean, based on an evaluation paper to be produced by the European External Action Service/Commission, which should be released shortly before the FAC. I plan to use this opportunity to reaffirm the need for EU support to be responsive to progress made against a country’s commitments and actions towards pursuing political and economic reform; to press for strategic, country-level discussions and collective assessment of individual states’ reform progress at future FACs; and to reiterate the need for more effective co-ordination of the EU’s activities both internally and in consultation with member states, including through better use of strategic communications.

Syria

Within the context of the southern neighbourhood discussion, I expect Ministers also to discuss the latest developments in Syria, including G8 outcomes and progress on the Geneva II political settlement process.

Middle East Peace Process (MEPP)

Ministers will address the deteriorating prospects for a two-state solution, and the importance of supporting US efforts. This discussion will be an opportunity to agree the focus of EU policy and engagement on the MEPP for the coming months. I will focus on how the EU can support and contribute actively, alongside other regional and international partners, to efforts led by the United States to drive progress on the MEPP. This will include the incentives the EU could offer the parties to reach a negotiated solution, particularly on the economic and security tracks. I will press for conclusions which outline the EU’s approach and support to the US.

Afghanistan

This will be the first EU ministerial discussion on Afghanistan in over a year. It will be an opportunity to reaffirm EU commitment to Afghanistan post-transition, complementing the G8 summit discussion the previous week. I will press for further progress against the Tokyo mutual accountability framework, highlight the importance of elections in 2014 and note the achievement made on transition of security to the Afghan National Security Forces.

Climate Change

Ministers will discuss EU climate diplomacy, building on and reviewing progress since the previous discussion of this issue by the FAC in July 2011. We expect that conclusions will be adopted, which will reaffirm the EU’s commitment to addressing climate change as a strategic foreign policy issue, and as a threat to economic resilience and security. I will support the European External Action Service in calling for renewed climate diplomacy efforts by all EU actors, particularly with a view to the deadline under the UN climate negotiations to adopt a new global, legally binding agreement by 2015.

General Affairs Council

The 25 June GAC will focus on EU enlargement and preparation for the 27-28 June European Council. There will also be a discussion on the multi-annual financial framework, following the agreement reached at the February European Council.

In addition, there will be a meeting with the President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, which is expected to focus on them June European Council.

Enlargement

The GAC will look at enlargement. Key decisions on Serbia and Kosovo are due to be taken, following the December 2012 GAC conclusions. Ministers will discuss the Commission’s proposal to open negotiations on a stabilisation and association agreement between the EU and Kosovo. Discussion on Serbia will be focused on preparing for a possible decision on opening EU accession negotiations at the June European Council. Serbia and Kosovo reached an historic agreement in April 2013 which included some autonomy for Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo and acceptance of Kosovo’s state institutions for the first time. The UK’s position on whether to support opening accession negotiations will depend on the progress Serbia makes on implementing this and existing agreements, and in normalising relations with Kosovo, by the time of the European Council. There may be brief discussion of Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) where the UK continues to support the Commission’s recommendation to open accession negotiations.

Preparation of the 27-28 June European Council

The GAC will prepare the 27-28 June European Council. The June European Council has an extensive agenda covering economic policy: including concluding the European semester, which gives macro-economic and fiscal guidance to member states, assessing implementation of the compact for growth and jobs agreed by the June 2012 European Council, industrial competitiveness and smart regulation; economic and monetary union; enlargement; strategic partners and possibly other foreign policy issues.

We will be clear that the best means to create jobs and growth and tackle youth unemployment is through structural reform and more flexible labour markets, opening up single market opportunities and pursuing ambitious trade deals. We will also seek to secure further progress in reducing burdens for small and medium enterprises. On economic and monetary union, we will make the case that strengthened governance must be voluntary for euro outs and continue to safeguard the single market.

The Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF)

The GAC will discuss the legal architecture putting into effect the February European Council agreement on the 2014-20 MFF: the draft MFF regulation and inter-institutional agreement. The Irish presidency intends to secure a mandate from the European Council to approach the European Parliament, which may vote on the MFF at the 1-4 July plenary. Should the European Parliament vote in favour of the proposal through the consent procedure, the MFF texts will then return to the European Council for a final decision by unanimity.

It is important that we make progress on this important dossier, and the February European Council conclusions on the MFF must be translated faithfully into the legal documents. Recent informal discussions have focused on issues such as increased flexibility in managing the budget and for a mid-term review of the MFF, both possibilities which the February deal allowed for. I will argue strongly that the agreement must respect the MFF ceilings, that any revision of the MFF must respect the treaty provisions for unanimity in Council, and that our abatement be preserved.

Court of Justice of the European Union

David Lidington Excerpts

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I beg to move,

That this House takes note of European Union Document No. 7013/13, the draft Council Decision increasing the number of Advocates-General of the Court of Justice of the European Union and, in accordance with Section 10 of the European Union Act 2011, approves Her Majesty’s Government’s intention to support the adoption of that draft Council Decision.

As you will be aware, Mr Speaker, this proposal is subject to the European Act 2011, which means that before Ministers can take a position in the Council on the proposed appointment of three additional advocates-general to the European Court of Justice, parliamentary approval must be secured for the United Kingdom’s position. That is the reason for today’s debate.

I believe that it is in the interests of this country for justice in the European Union to be delivered through the Court promptly and effectively. It is particularly important for British businesses with pan-European interests whose opportunities for business may well depend on clarity on the impact of European law.

[Jacob Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way so early. I would just question whether we get justice from the European Court.

[Mr Lidington]

As with any other court here in the United Kingdom, I am sure there will be judgments with which my hon. Friend and I might have quarrels and wish that learned judges had come to other opinions. Where I would respond robustly to him is to say that, as far as I can tell, in coming to their decisions the justices of the European Union Courts take very seriously their duty to apply the law as it is found in the treaties and in secondary European legislation. The appointment of judges at the EU Courts is subject to approval by an expert panel. Indeed, to be eligible to serve as a justice in the European Court, the man or woman in question must either have served in a senior judicial office in their home country or be of sufficient standing in the law to be regarded as capable of exercising that kind of responsibility.

I believe that the measure we are discussing will provide quicker and more efficient justice within the European Union. The proposal is to increase the number of advocates-general to nine from 1 July 2013 and to 11 from 7 October 2015. The first advocate-general would be a permanent Polish advocate-general. Under declaration 38 in article 252 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, member states agreed in 2007 that if there were an increase in advocates-general, Poland would have a permanent advocate-general and no longer take part in the rotation of advocates-general. This step would bring Poland into line with the other big six member states, including the United Kingdom, which all already have a permanent advocate-general. An additional two advocates-general would increase the existing rotation system from three to five. Under current arrangements, we would expect the first two additional advocates-general appointed in October 2015 to be Czech and Danish.

In the 2011 report on the work load of the European Court of Justice, the House of Lords recommended that the number of advocates-general be increased. Since 2011, the Lords have repeated that recommendation several times, including in their follow-up report this year, and called for the increase to be implemented without delay. Last night, in its section 10 debate on this matter, the House of Lords approved the draft Council decision and Members of their lordships’ House spoke positively about the impact that additional advocates-general would have on the efficient functioning of the courts.

The role of advocates-general is to produce non-legally binding opinions for the Court of Justice to assist it in reaching its judgments.

[Jacob Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way again. In reference to the House of Lords, the 2011 report questioned whether the quality of the advocates-general would be high enough. I wonder, therefore, what evidence has encouraged them to change their minds to be confident in the quality of the people who may be appointed.

[Mr Lidington]

I want to come on to the question of quality and the article 255 panel later. If my hon. Friend is dissatisfied at that point, then by all means I invite him to seek to intervene again. However, I think perhaps that it is best if I come to that passage at the appropriate time.

I was talking about the role of advocates-general. They produce their non-legally binding opinions in about half of all cases, particularly in those that raise a new point of law. There is no appeals process, of course, so the additional reasoned submissions help the Court to provide effective justice. Given that the number of cases before it continues to rise, the Government are satisfied that there is a need for additional advocates-general to process better the Court’s work load.

The opinions that advocates-general issue are a key element in the efficiency of the Court. As Sir Konrad Schiemann stated in his evidence to the House of Lords this year, advocate-general opinions significantly shorten the time occupied by judges in agreeing a judgment and improve the quality of the Court’s judgments. The opinions assist the Court with its own deliberations, because the Court can then test its own views against the detailed reasoning of the advocate-general conclusions. It is particularly useful in the EU Court because, unlike the practice in our own Supreme Court or Court of Appeal, it has to reach a consensus for its ruling—the possibility of separate dissenting opinions from different judges does not exist at the European level.

As well as contributing to the speed of judgments, advocates-general also improve the quality of justice dispensed by the Court. The opinions are detailed and so provide a greater insight into the approach ultimately taken by the Court, regardless of whether it agrees or disagrees in the final decision with the recommendation of the advocate-general. That means that those opinions are valuable in maintaining the consistency of the Court’s case law.

It is important that the Court is efficient, because of the impact that its judgments can have on British citizens and businesses operating in the European single market in particular. A classic example was the case brought by the National Farmers Union in the context of the BSE crisis—NFU v. Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement—against France’s refusal to lift the beef ban on UK imports. The Court ruled that since EU legislation laid down the necessary rules for the protection of public health, France was not entitled to rely on the public health exception in then article 30 of the treaty establishing the European Community to prevent the resumption of beef and veal imports from the UK. I am sure that the House needs no reminder that the beef industry was worth more than £430 million in exports to the British economy in 2011—the last year for which we have figures. Another recent example was the ruling of the Court in 2011 in the case of DHL v. Chronopost, which provides certainty for trademark owners on the extent to which a Community trademark owner could secure EU-wide relief based on action in only one member state.

The impact of the EU Courts is not limited to cases in which UK businesses are directly involved. The outcome of other cases can have significant benefits for the UK, directly or indirectly. For example, there was a case on whether EU legislation allowed for prescribing incentive schemes—arrangements to encourage doctors to prescribe cheaper generic medicines. Adopting the approach suggested by the British Government in their recommendations, the decision of the Court resulted in an estimated saving to our Department of Health of nearly £400 million.

Given the current number of advocates-general and the increasing work load of the Court, the individual advocates-general have been under pressure. There is no single reason why the Court’s work load has been increasing over the years. In 2012, 632 new cases were brought before it and it completed only 527. In 2011, 688 new cases were brought before it and it completed 554. These were the two busiest years so far recorded in the Court’s history. In 2012, the backlog of cases had risen to 886—up from 849 12 months before.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

First, I congratulate the Minister for Europe on his French pronunciation, which I thought was A*, as they say.

I am in favour of more judges, as are the Government, but is the Minister satisfied that having more judges will result in quicker decisions? He knows that one of our concerns is that it takes too long to get judgments. Is he satisfied that by putting these extra judges on the Court, the decisions will be handed out quicker?

[Mr Lidington]

We are talking here not about additional judges but about additional advocates-general. As I have argued, the advocates-general play an important role in assisting the judges of the Court in coming to a conclusion and in analysing the legal arguments in question. Clearly, I cannot give a 100% guarantee from this Dispatch Box, but I pray in aid the evidence of Sir Konrad Schiemann and others from the Court who have argued consistently that the provision of additional advocates-general would help them to address the backlog, in part by spreading out the preparatory work of legal analysis and the provision of a learned opinion amongst a slightly greater number of expert advocates-general than is available to the Court now.

As the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz)—one of my predecessors in this role—will know, the enlargement of the EU over the last decade following the accession of a large number of new member states has inevitably led over time to a greater number of cases being brought, simply because there are more citizens and more businesses that might be in a position to bring a case before the European Courts.

[Keith Vaz]

I am grateful to the Minister, who is generous in giving way for a second time. That is why I was interested in the fact that a Polish advocate-general was to be appointed, because one of the problems we have is that Poland has been issuing more European arrest warrants than anyone else. This may, for example, eventually lead to a backlog in cases here.

[Mr Lidington]

The right hon. Gentleman may have an opportunity tomorrow to express his views about the European arrest warrant and the attitude taken by the Polish courts. It is fair to say that Poland is as equally entitled to have its own permanent advocate-general as Spain, Italy, France, Germany or the UK. Everybody round the table accepts that there are six member states whose populations give them a certain priority when it comes to such appointments. I emphasise again that the declaration that promised the first new advocate-general to Poland was agreed by every member state, large and small.

The greater efficiency of the Court is going to require more than just the appointment of three new advocates-general. I am happy to concede that point to the right hon. Member for Leicester East. The House will be familiar with the reforms that the Court itself has introduced in the last two years, including increasing the number of judges in the Grand Chamber from 13 to 15; abolishing unnecessary procedural elements such as the requirement to read the report of the hearing in full, and thus the need to produce a report; provisions allowing for the appointment of temporary judges to the civil service tribunal; and establishing a new office of vice-president in the Court of Justice and the General Court. I am sure that there will be other opportunities for the House to debate proposed changes to the European Courts and proposed measures to secure greater efficiencies in the future.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

Is the Minister aware of occasions when other European countries have not been anxious or zealous in enforcing the Court decision, or have delayed doing so? Does the UK push through Court decisions while other countries disregard them?

[Mr Lidington]

I am always willing to say that if any right hon. or hon. Member, or any UK business, can come forward with evidence that another member state is refusing to implement European law—whether that is law as interpreted by the Courts or the law as enacted through the European legislative process—we will be happy to champion those British citizens or companies with the relevant institutions. As I am sure the hon. Gentleman will know, once law has been established and clarity assured by a judgment from the Court, it is then for the European Commission to initiate infraction proceedings if a member state fails to implement the European Court’s rulings. It is fair to say that sometimes there is argument after the judgment about the exact meaning—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. We are drifting from the question of advocates-general. Mr Shannon has tempted you, Minister for Europe, and you should know better. Back on course!

[Mr Lidington]

If the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) applies to Mr Speaker for an Adjournment debate, he and I might have the opportunity to explore those matters in the detail that he so ardently desires.

Let me return to the issue we are debating and the criticisms the European Scrutiny Committee has raised. Let me turn first to the important issue of funding. Although broadly supporting the proposal, the Government are clear that any additional advocates-general should not and need not result in an increase in the Court’s budget. The appointment of the new post holders and their support staff should lead to a relatively small additional cost of about €4 million a year, which the Court can meet from within its existing budget. Its budget was more than €354 million for 2013, and the Court has underspent by more than the cost of the additional advocates-general in each of the last three years. In the current economic climate, there is an imperative on all the EU’s institutions, including the Court, to find ways to reduce their administrative costs.

As I set out in paragraph 12 of my explanatory memorandum to the European Scrutiny Committee, the UK is prepared to submit a minute statement in Council to set out our expectation that the increase is cost-neutral. If necessary, we will do that during voting on the Council decision. As I know the House understands, a minute statement in itself will not be enough to guarantee cost-neutrality, but would be a clear statement of the United Kingdom’s position ahead of the separate financial negotiations next year on the annual budget. Indeed, the minute statement is not intended to secure budget neutrality at this stage, but is intended to signal clearly the beginning of our negotiating position for next year.

[Jacob Rees-Mogg]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way again. The agreement on the advocates-general is by unanimity whereas the agreement on the budget is by qualified majority vote. Are we therefore not getting it the wrong way round by agreeing to the increase in one before the debate on the other? Should we not delay our agreement by unanimity until we have the budget that we want?

[Mr Lidington]

These are two separate decisions that have two different processes. We are indeed talking about a decision that is taken by unanimity. Annual budgets are what will determine the total budget of the Court for 2014 and subsequent years. Those annual budgets will have to be agreed within the ceilings to commitments and payments that are set out in the multi-annual financial framework that my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and other Heads of Government negotiated in February this year, and which I hope is approaching the final stages of negotiation with the European Parliament.

Delay of the kind that my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg) suggests would not get us very far. The Government’s view is that there is a persuasive case for the extra appointments to be made. The way in which EU finances are organised means that the negotiations on the annual budget will determine the total budget available to the Court. From that budget, the Court will have to meet its costs under various headings of expenditure, including this small one.

I point out to my hon. Friend that the United Kingdom is not alone in expecting the Court to absorb the costs of the additional advocates-general. We are one of a blocking minority of budget-disciplined net-contributor member states that routinely votes against increases to the EU budget. We anticipate that that like-minded group will take the same view on any request to increase the Court’s budget to accommodate the new advocates-general. The Prime Minister’s recent success at the multi-annual framework negotiations should be an indication of how strongly the Government feel about budgetary savings.

The European Scrutiny Committee also asked me to outline the Government’s view of the manner of appointing advocates-general and my view of the calibre of the likely appointees. My hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset made a point about this in an earlier intervention. The article 255 panel gives an opinion on candidates’ suitability to perform the role of advocate-general. The Government consider that the panel plays a key role in making the judicial appointments process more transparent and helping to ensure that the chosen candidates are of a high quality. The UK was a key supporter of the creation of such a panel, and we have consistently supported the application of rigour in the judicial selection process. The article 255 panel is effective in its role of assessing the suitability of nominees to serve as judges and as advocates-general. To date, the panel has delivered 43 opinions, of which five were unfavourable. In each case, the opinions delivered by the panel have been followed by the Governments of member states. When the panel has been unhappy about the calibre of a particular nominee, that nominee has subsequently been withdrawn.

[Keith Vaz]

The Minister is bringing a great deal of clarity to our discussion of the motion. Will he tell us how many members of that panel are from the United Kingdom?

[Mr Lidington]

We have one member on the panel. There are members from different member states represented around the table. The panel has to be drawn from people who have the right kind of experience and expertise to make these assessments.

On the specific appointees for the additional advocates-general, we do not yet know who the candidates will be. Indeed, two of them will not be appointed until October 2015. It would not be right for me to comment on their calibre or to speculate about those individuals at this stage. That is the purpose of the expert panel.

[Mr John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con)]

But does the Minister not agree that what we want is fewer judges because we want fewer cases? The judges we want are the ones who will uphold the sovereignty of national Parliaments on far more issues than is currently the case—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I have allowed the right hon. Gentleman to intervene on the Minister even though he only arrived in the Chamber three minutes ago. However, the debate is about advocates-general, not about judges.

[Mr Lidington]

I would say to my right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) that we need less legislation at European level. We need legislation to be written as clearly as possible, so that there is less need for the arbitration of the Courts. Regarding some of his criticisms of the ambiguity and over-prescriptive nature of European law, I have to say that I have heard such criticism being made of United Kingdom Acts of Parliament as well from time to time. None of this is perfect. He might have missed the point that I made earlier in my speech that British business finds it helpful to have a European Court of Justice applying the rules of the single market with clarity and, one would hope, with fairness. There have been a number of leading cases in which the decisions of the European Courts have led to significant practical advantages and opportunities for United Kingdom businesses and business sectors.

I want to give a little additional information to the right hon. Member for Leicester East. I have been advised that Lord Mance is the United Kingdom’s member on the panel and that there are seven members of it in total. From memory, they are people who are selected on merit and who have held usually very senior judicial office, perhaps in the constitutional court or supreme court of their own country.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

I have just heard a muttering from behind me suggesting that Britain’s nomination is absolutely brilliant and there is no doubt about that. The problem is that many people involved in these things on behalf of Europe come from universities rather than real law. Where are the majority of them from in this instance?

[Mr Lidington]

I am happy to write to my hon. Friend with a list of the members of the article 255 panel and their qualifications and experience. I would rather not venture an opinion from memory, but they do have to be people who would be employed in their member states in selecting very senior judicial office holders.

It might be helpful if I now set out for the House the likely next steps for this draft Council decision, if it is approved by Parliament. The Court would like to have the first additional advocate-general, the Polish one, in post from 1 July this year and the other two from October 2015, when there will be a partial replacement of the members of the Court.

[Jacob Rees-Mogg]

If the Court hopes to have the Polish advocate-general appointed by 1 July, is there time for that person to be properly vetted by the article 255 panel?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lidington]

As I was about to say, given that this request was only made by the Court on 16 January, and clearly a number of countries, including us, had to take forward the necessary domestic processes for approval, the 1 July date was always an ambitious timetable for the first advocate-general. In addition to our requirement for an affirmative debate in both Houses, Poland estimates that its own appointment process will take about four months.

I agree with my hon. Friend that it is important that the article 255 panel does its job properly and with due diligence. From what I know about the way it has operated in respect of other judicial appointments, I am very confident indeed that it will take that duty seriously and that, if it comes to a choice, it will regard exercising due diligence as more important than meeting any particular deadline.

The Government are still hopeful that if parliamentary approval is secured today, the Council will be able to approve the decision during the Irish presidency, which ends at the end of June this year. Member states are able to appoint the first advocate-general at any point after that and do not need to wait until October 2015, when the final two advocates-general will be added.

I hope that today’s debate will provide Members with the opportunity to consider this proposal fully, and that, having done so, they will agree with the Government that the addition of three advocates-general to the Court of Justice of the European Union is in the UK’s interests.

As I said at the start of my remarks, this is a new procedure for us. This is one of the provisions of the European Union Act 2011 and before Ministers can vote in Council, the Government must secure affirmative resolutions in each House of Parliament. It is one small but none the less significant element of the work of trying to secure greater oversight by Parliament of decisions taken by Ministers in Europe on behalf of this country, and therefore in a small way helps to increase the democratic accountability of the EU, a principle that this Government strongly support.

--- Later in debate ---

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

I do not know whether that is an invitation for me to cross the Floor and tickle the tummy of the hon. Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg), although I would love to do it in normal circumstances. It is always a pleasure to follow him because he speaks so powerfully about these issues and studies them so carefully that he knows that a few months ago the Government promised to look carefully at the way in which the Court operates.

I will be brief because I promised the hon. Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling) that I would be, and we have an opportunity to discuss other European issues tomorrow. I welcome the fact that we are having so many discussions about Europe on the Floor of the House. That takes me to my first point, which is how much I agree with the hon. Member for North East Somerset about how important it is that we discuss such issues on the Floor of the House, even though the attendance is not quite what we would have liked. [Interruption.] The Government Whip reminds me that it is the quality that counts, not the numbers. It is indeed.

The Minister said that this was not additional expenditure because it was to be found from the European Court’s existing budget and because the European Court had underspent. If indeed the European Court has underspent, I would like to know what encouragement the Government have given it to ensure that rather than appoint more advocates-general the money is used to make it more efficient. The fact that it has been unable to use the underspend to improve its efficiency is clear from the considerable time it has taken to decide a number of important cases. Will the Minister explain what steps the Government have taken over the last 12 months to ensure that the Court becomes more efficient, because it has more money available to do so?

I fully support Poland getting the new advocate-general seat. As the Minister’s predecessor, I was involved in the enlargement process. We always thought, and thought correctly, that, given its population, Poland would want to take its place as one of the big countries of Europe. I am glad that we are sticking to the agreement that we made that Poland should have this additional post. However, I am not sure that the Minister told us who would get the other two vacancies, and how that would be decided. If they are up for grabs, so to speak, and bearing in mind the importance of the enlargement process, perhaps it would be a good idea, rather than offer them to other countries that are already represented on the Court, to offer them to countries that have joined because of the enlargement process. One of the most important outcomes of enlargement is that we make representation in the European Union wider.

[Mr Lidington]

I can give the right hon. Gentleman some clarity on this point. The proposal is that the remaining two new advocates-general should become part of the normal rotation process for the nomination of advocates-general among those member states that are not entitled to a permanent advocate-general of their own. In other words, it is all of the soon-to-be 28 member states of the EU minus the biggest six countries, once these new measures are in place. We would expect, if the current arrangements for rotation continue, the two new advocates-general in 2015 to come from the Czech Republic and from Denmark.

[Keith Vaz]

I thank the Minister for that clarification and look forward to ensuring that that expectation is met.

My final point relates to the speed of the Court. The hon. Member for North East Somerset wants the Court to slow down, because he believes that speeding it up will result in greater integration. I am in favour of speeding it up, which is why I support the proposal for move advocates-general, not to ensure that we have a federalist Europe, which I oppose, but to ensure that the decisions they have to take are dealt with in a timely fashion. The delay is inexcusable. It should be considered very carefully. I am disappointed that the Minister could not assure the House that, as a result of the decision to appoint three additional advocates-general, the Court’s decisions would be speeded up, because of course he has no evidence to suggest that appointing another three will make the decisions come through any quicker—they will take their time to do what they have to do. I would like to see decisions made much more quickly in a whole host of areas, and primarily in one area that I believe is very important. If decisions have to be made as part of the legal process, they should be made as quickly as possible, because that benefits all parties.

I will end where I began by agreeing with the hon. Member for North East Somerset: it is so important that we discuss these issues on the Floor of the House. The Government should never take it for granted that, because there are so few Members present and because Opposition Front Benchers agree with them on an issue, they will never be challenged on one of these motions. There should always be an expectation that Parliament will decide to do something different, which at least we have the chance to do. I warmly welcome that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Lidington]

I am grateful to all right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in the debate and shall attempt to respond briefly, with the leave of the House, to the various points and questions that have been posed.

I turn first to the characteristically eloquent speech by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg). He and I have debated in the past and I am sure we will have opportunities to debate again the extent to which there should be European Union-level competence over particular areas of policy. He and I may agree on some parts of that debate, and we will certainly have different views on others. The point of principle in the context of today’s debate seems to be that if European-level rules and laws have been established and legislated for at the EU level—most obviously to govern a single market in goods and services—we need some kind of supranational EU tribunal or arbiter to decide on the interpretation of those laws and rules and to resolve any conflicting assertions as to the correct interpretation of them.

[Lady Hermon]

On the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, I am sure that it has not gone unnoticed that it always wishes to promote equality between men and women. Have the Minister and his colleagues pressed the ECJ to ensure that the new advocate-general will make the existing advocates-general representative of men and women across Europe?

[Mr Lidington]

The hon. Lady is right that, on jurisprudence, the Court has treated this issue as one of great importance. Of course, it is for individual member states to nominate men or women to serve as advocates-general, and it will then be for the article 255 panel to consider whether those nominees meet the strict criteria and standard required under the treaties. I would hope that there is fair representation. It is important that the ablest men and women are willing to be considered as potential candidates.

[Lady Hermon]

I am grateful to the Minister for taking a second intervention. I hope that, aided and abetted by his lovely team, he will now be able to throw some light on the current composition of the Court’s advocates-general.

[Mr Lidington]

I will write to the hon. Lady with that information, but I can tell her now that, as I am sure she already knows, the United Kingdom’s advocate-general is indeed a woman who, whether one agrees or disagrees with her particular opinions, is an extremely able lawyer who contributes a great deal to the work of the Court.

My hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset argued that the Government should carry out a cost-benefit analysis of the Court’s impact on the United Kingdom. The Government, as the House will know, have launched a review of the current balance of competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union. The 32 calls for evidence and reports on different aspects of policy will give ample opportunity to businesses and others to argue where ECJ decisions have been of benefit to this country and where they have been harmful. Without revealing too much, I can tell the House that the forthcoming report on taxation policy—it is as yet unpublished—will make specific reference to leading cases in the European courts and how they have had an impact on the United Kingdom.

My hon. Friend also said that he wished that the Government had demonstrated a willingness to exercise a veto over the measure for the appointment of three new advocates-general. I say to him that a veto should not be brandished if we think that the measure concerned will be to our overall advantage. I also say to him that the Prime Minister has shown that he is willing to exercise a veto and to block measures that he believes would harm the interests of this country. We must use our negotiating capital skilfully and be prepared to be cussed and awkward if necessary about the things that really matter to the interests of the British people. The Government have been right to play hardball on issues such as the multi-annual financial framework and the long overdue reform of the common fisheries policy, and in our refusal last year to accept the proposal to set up an operational headquarters for the EU’s common security and defence policy.

I was asked a number of questions by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East (Emma Reynolds), my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) and others about Court reform and how we were seeking to promote greater efficiency, and about financing. I will deal with those two central questions before concluding my remarks.

On Court reform, a key point to emphasise is that the treaties give the Court of Justice the prime role in initiating proposals for its reform. Under article 281 of the treaty on the functioning of the European Union, changes to the Court’s statute can be proposed by the Court on its own initiative after consulting the Commission or by the Commission after consultation with the Court. The Court can propose amendments to its rules of procedure, but they need the approval of the Council. There is a Council lock on proposals, but the proposals must in the main come forward from the Court. The House will readily understand why the treaties were written in a way that protects the Court to some extent from political pressures. Within that context, we have been consistent in urging the Court to take seriously its duty to look hard at the possibility of internal administrative and procedural reform, as well as looking for other ways to enhance its efficiency and deal more promptly with the growing backlog of cases.

The reforms that have been agreed over the past two years, with the support of the United Kingdom, have included establishing the new office of the vice-president of the European Court of Justice and General Court. The quorum in the Grand Chamber has been changed to allow greater flexibility. We have seen the abolition of the requirement for a report for hearing and for the reading of that report. That has saved a lot of time when one adds up the savings accumulated over a large number of cases. We have seen the agreement to create a pool of temporary judges for the civil service tribunal. We have also seen changes to the ECJ’s rules of procedure to provide greater efficiency.

Other ideas are still being discussed. One to which the UK Government are quite sympathetic is the creation of specialist chambers within the Court. However, that is for the Court to propose if it is persuaded that it is the right course on which to embark. As the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon) and other Members will know, the House of Lords Sub-Committee that is considering these matters has produced detailed reports on Court reform and efficiency.

Finally, let me turn to finance. The UK is one of a group of like-minded, budget-disciplined member states that work together routinely to push down the EU’s annual budget costs. The group includes Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Germany and Austria as well as us, and we have no reason to believe it will be less focused on budget discipline this year. It is fair to say to the House that the €4 million needed for the advocates-general cannot be negotiated in isolation and would be one part of an annual budget negotiation of roughly €130 billion in total. The bill for the advocates-general and their staff would be less than one 100th of a percentage of the EU’s total annual budget for 2013.

To respond to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton North East, I say that the Court can request funds, but funding is for co-decision by the Council and the European Parliament. If we look at what has been happening in the EU’s annual budget for 2013, we see that the Court requested an increase to its budget of 8.4%—€29.2 million—which in percentage terms was the biggest requested increase for any EU institution that year. In practice, the UK and its allies worked together to reduce that increase to just 1.9% in 2013—slightly below the level of inflation. There is no reason to believe that the same could not be achieved on budget neutrality for the advocates-general, particularly given the underspend in the Court’s budget in each of the past three years.

Clearly this matter is one component of a much bigger negotiation, and the Court’s total budget forms just one part of the overall annual EU budget. There is, however, no doubt about the Government’s determination to ensure that those small additional costs are met from within the Court’s existing budget, and in particular its publicly known underspending. We will continue to work assiduously for the best possible efficiency and the greatest possible value for money, not just in the affairs of the European Courts but in every institution of the European Union.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House takes note of European Union Document No. 7013/13, the draft Council Decision increasing the number of Advocates-General of the Court of Justice of the European Union and, in accordance with Section 10 of the European Union Act 2011, approves Her Majesty’s Government’s intention to support the adoption of that draft Council Decision.

Ukrainian Holodomor

David Lidington Excerpts

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Pauline Latham) for her success in securing this debate and for the way in which she made her case. She did so with a commitment, eloquence and passion that did justice to the gravity of the appalling events that we are debating.

To say that the famine that culminated in 1932 and 1933 was a terrible tragedy is to underestimate the sheer brutality and inhumanity of what took place. I think that my hon. Friend would be the first to agree that the anecdotes and illustrations on which she drew in her speech can give us only the briefest glimpse of an horrific picture that was the daily experience of suffering among people in Ukraine during that time. The numbers of people who were involved and who suffered are staggering. Across vast swathes of what was then the Soviet Union—notably in Ukraine, but also as far west as Moldova and eastwards into Kazakhstan—millions of people starved to death because of the policies of their own Government.

It is a cause for some heart searching in the western world that for decades this tragedy was often overlooked or ignored. Worse, it was in some quarters denied, even among some who had pretentions to serious scholarship. Of course, countless people inside and outside Ukraine have fought to keep alive the memory of those who died in this atrocity and to raise awareness of the holodomor, but probably in the west it was pioneering historians of their time, such as Robert Conquest, who first drew attention to what had happened. I still remember reading as a schoolboy the first volume of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s “The Gulag Archipelago” and finding there his account of the famine set in its broader context of policies of persecution, policies sometimes of slaughter, that were directed by Lenin and Stalin against the peoples over whom they ruled. What the efforts of those historians and of those many people inside and outside Ukraine have achieved is that people across the world continue to remember those who were lost and reflect today on the warning from history that the famine clearly provides.

There is no question, in the Government’s view, but that the famine took place as a result of Stalin and the actions of his Government. It was a man-made tragedy. It is clear, too, that it was within modern Ukraine where the terrible consequences of those actions were most heavily borne. On the question whether Ukraine was specifically targeted, whether this was a campaign directed by Stalin against any manifestation of Ukrainian nationhood, that is certainly widely believed, although it is not without controversy inside Ukraine, but it is also true that other parts of the then Soviet Union were gravely affected by the famine. In Kazakhstan, for example, the death toll as a proportion of the local population was higher than that in Ukraine. Areas of rural Russia were also affected; innocent people died there, too.

However, it is also clear that the Soviet regime felt deep hostility towards any manifestation of Ukrainian nationalism and it must have known that policies targeting the agricultural regions of the Soviet Union would have a disproportionate effect on Ukraine. The fact that, during the famine, Stalin closed the eastern border of Ukraine to prevent starving peasants from entering Russia in search of food is perhaps one of the strongest indications that his policy was, at least in part, motivated by a hostility towards Ukraine as a nation, with an identity, tradition and culture of its own. I think that no reasonable man or woman today would deny the horror, the atrocity, that was the holodomor.

My hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire asks whether the Government will recognise the holodomor formally as a genocide. Given the history of the holodomor, I can well understand the depth and strength of feeling in favour of doing that and why some Parliaments around the world have already done so. As the House knows, there is still a debate among historians and others on the question of recognition of the holodomor as genocide. Genocide has a defined status in international law, following the 1948 UN genocide convention. The holodomor predates the establishment of the concept of genocide in international law and the convention was not drafted to apply retrospectively.

Government policy is that recognition of genocides should be a matter for judicial decision, bearing in mind the terms of the convention and the consequences for individuals and Governments that can follow from the designation of their actions as genocide. It should be for judges, rather than Governments or non-judicial bodies, to make a designation of genocide. Recognition decisions should be based on a credible judicial process, and the courts are best placed to judge what are essentially criminal matters. The British Government have not proactively designated any atrocities as genocide. Those we have recognised—the holocaust, the 1994 killings in Rwanda and the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica—are all cases in which judicial bodies had judged the outrages to be genocide, in line with the definition in international law.

We have made clear, and will continue to make clear, our abiding horror at what happened in Ukraine in the 1930s. Every year, the Ukrainian Government host a formal ceremony of commemoration in Kiev. They invite foreign ambassadors, and our ambassador normally represents the UK at that event. To mark the 75th anniversary of the holodomor in 2008, their Royal Highnesses the Duke of York and Princess Eugenie travelled to Kiev, took part in the ceremony and laid wreathes at the Kiev memorial to the victims of the holodomor.

I give my hon. Friend and the House the undertaking that we will not forget or overlook what happened. It is important for all of us that Governments and peoples throughout Europe continue to learn the lessons from what happened in Ukraine and elsewhere in eastern Europe in those years, to ensure that no one is again tempted towards policies that could have such an appalling effect on innocent men, women and children. We will look for other opportunities to demonstrate our solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We will mark with them the opportunity to mourn those who suffered or lost their lives during the holodomor and recall the importance of remembrance of the atrocity for the new generations growing to adulthood today. Nothing should diminish the horror or magnitude of the events in Ukraine and elsewhere in the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Man-made policies, a brutal dictatorship and a pitiless ideology led to the deaths of many millions of innocent people. That is something that the world cannot and should never forget.

Foreign Affairs/Development Foreign Affairs Councils

David Lidington Excerpts

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs attended the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on 27 May and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development attended the Development Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on 28 May. The FAC and Development FAC were chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland.

Commissioners Damanaki (Maritime Affairs and Fisheries), Georgieva (International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response), Potocnik (Environment), Füle (Enlargement) and Piebalgs (Development) were in attendance for some of the discussions at the FAC and Development FAC.

A provisional report of the meetings and conclusions adopted can be found at: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/137317.pdf.

Foreign Affairs Council

Syria

Ministers agreed conclusions that focused on reiterating the EU’s concern at the situation in Syria especially the humanitarian crisis, highlighting the EU’s support for progress in Geneva based on the principles of the 2012 Geneva communiqué, support for the Syrian opposition and the Istanbul meeting, and post-conflict planning.

Ministers agreed that a Council decision putting in place the sanctions package for the next 12 months would be adopted before the existing sanctions expired on 1 June. Ministers agreed to end the EU arms embargo and return decisions on arms provision to the member states. They agreed a framework of safeguards to guide those member states who might decide to provide arms: arms can only be sent to the Syrian national coalition for opposition and revolutionary forces, and must be intended for the protection of civilians; member states must require safeguards that ensure delivery to the intended recipients; and Ministers confirmed that existing obligations under the EU common position for arms exports remain in place. Member states said they would not proceed at this stage with deliveries of arms, in order to give time for the Geneva II process to succeed. Separately from this, ministers also agreed to review the Council position on the arms embargo before 1 August, on the basis of a report from the high representative.

Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)

Ministers discussed preparations for the December European Council discussion on defence. Baroness Ashton highlighted the need to spend national defence budgets more effectively in order to develop key military capabilities and strengthen Europe’s defence industry. Baroness Ashton stressed that implementation of the EU’s comprehensive approach was key to a successful CSDP and that the EU needed to improve its civilian missions. There was widespread support from Ministers for Germany’s recent non-paper on civilian CSDP, of which the UK is a co-signatory, with an emphasis on improving mission planning, speed of deployment and access to funding. Other member states also raised maritime security, cyber security, the need for CSDP to complement NATO, the utility of regional approaches to European capability development, the EU’s role in the western Balkans and the timing of Baroness Ashton’s report on EU CSDP.

Middle East Peace Process

The planned discussion on the middle east peace process was postponed until the June FAC.

Iran E3+3

Baroness Ashton updated Ministers on her meeting with the Iranian chief negotiator Jalili in Istanbul on 15 May where Baroness Ashton had stressed that Iran needed to consider seriously the E3+3’s confidence building measures.

Mali

Baroness Ashton briefed Ministers on the high-level donors’ conference on Mali which took place in Brussels on 15 May. More than €3.25 billion had been pledged, including €520 million from the EU. Baroness Ashton said that progress was being made on the political front and that preparations for the handover from African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) to the UN were going well. Ministers agreed conclusions that confirmed the importance of the political process and national reconciliation.

Somalia

Baroness Ashton welcomed the Somalia conference held in London on 7 May which had demonstrated strong international support for Somalia. The Foreign Secretary noted that the London conference had served as good preparation for the EU Somalia conference to be held 16 September. The Foreign Secretary highlighted the €350 million in new pledges made at the London conference and stressed the need for this to be delivered quickly to improve Somalia’s justice systems, police, armed forces and public financial management.

Serbia/Kosovo

Baroness Ashton reported back on her 21-22 May meeting with the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo, which had agreed an implementation plan following the 19 April agreement on northern Kosovo. Baroness Ashton informed Ministers that the implementation plan had now been approved in both capitals. Rapid implementation of the agreement was needed ahead of discussions in the June General Affairs Council and European Council, which will include consideration of a date for the opening of accession negotiations with Serbia.

Other business

Ministers agreed without discussion a number of other measures, including:

The Council authorised member states to sign the arms trade treaty with respect to matters falling under the exclusive competence of the Union. It encouraged member states to sign the arms trade treaty at the solemn ceremony in New York on 3 June or at the earliest possible date.

The Council amended legislation implementing the EU restrictive measures in view of the situation in Libya. Changes were made to take account of modifications adopted by the UN Security Council.

The Council extended the EU police mission in Afghanistan until 31 December 2014.

The Council allocated a budget of €110 million to the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo to cover the period from 15 June 2013 until 14 June 2014.

The Council noted the comprehensive annual report on CSDP and CSDP-related training 2012, and approved its conclusions as a basis for further actions to improve training in the field of CSDP.

The Council authorised the opening of negotiations with Libya for an agreement on the status of the EU integrated border management assistance mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya).

The Council took note of the third report on member states’ progress in facilitating the deployment of civilian personnel to CSDP missions.

The Council approved an administrative arrangement between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, with a view to its conclusion by the EDA steering board. The arrangement sets out procedures for a mutual exchange of information as well as for Serbia’s participation in EDA projects and programmes.

Development Foreign Affairs Council

Post-2015 agenda

Ministers endorsed conclusions on the overarching post-2015 agenda that set out the high-level EU position on preparations for a future framework in advance of the September millennium development goals review event. Ministers agreed that the post-2015 and Rio+20 follow-up processes should converge. The International Development Secretary said it was vital that the EU send a clear message on the need for an integrated agenda leading to one set of goals, while remaining flexible in international negotiations to the positions of partner countries on the detail. The conclusions will now proceed to the EU Environment Council on 18 June and be considered for adoption at the General Affairs Council on 16 June.

Agenda for Change

Commissioner Piebalgs introduced a Commission/ EEAS paper updating member states on progress on implementation of the EU aid reform programme set out in the “Agenda for Change”, and reiterated his conviction as to its core principles. Joint programming and demonstrating results were particularly important, as well as blending grants and loans to leverage more money for partner countries.

Ministers welcomed the opportunity to scrutinise progress at a political level and many were positive about joint programming. The International Development Secretary called for more action on the results framework so the EU could better demonstrate value for money, and for more information on progress on gender equality, empowerment of women and private sector development.

Food and nutrition security

Ministers agreed conclusions on food and nutrition security in external assistance setting out a new EU policy framework to enhance maternal and child nutrition and a new EU implementation plan. The Irish presidency noted the important work being done by the UK through the G8 presidency and encouraged the EU and member states to support the UK’s “Nutrition for Growth” event on 8 June.

2012 Official Development Assistance (PDA) Targets

Ministers adopted conclusions on the annual report 2013 to the European Council on EU development aid targets. Commissioner Piebalgs said it revealed a worrying trend and urged member states to take the necessary steps to meet the 0.7% ODA commitment. This was not just about charity but investment from which the EU would benefit in terms of security, immigration and job creation.

European Development Fund

The Council established the EU position on the financial protocol concerning the 11th European Development Fund for 2014 to 2020. In total, €31.5 billion will be available for African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states in that period. Ministers also noted that Somalia had acceded to the ACP-EU partnership (Cotonou) agreement.

The EU approach to resilience

Ministers agreed conclusions on the EU approach to resilience setting out guiding principles and priorities for implementation.

Other business

The International Development Secretary briefed Ministers on UK G8 presidency priorities, including forthcoming events on trade, tax and transparency, the “Nutrition for Growth” event being co-hosted with Brazil and the leaders’ summit at Lough Erne. The UK and France had recently signed up to the extractive industries transparency initiative. The Minister also gave an update on the work of the global partnership, which was well placed to support the EU’s efforts on post-2015.

The meeting ended with an informal lunch with UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson where discussion focused on the post-2015 agenda.

General Affairs Council

David Lidington Excerpts

Monday 3rd June 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I attended the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 21 May in Brussels. The GAC was chaired by Eamon Gilmore, Foreign Minister for the Republic of Ireland. The focus of the GAC was the multi-annual financial framework (MFF), the preparation for the 22 May European Council and the preparation of the 27 and 28 June European Council, as well as short discussion on the follow-up to previous European Councils.

Multi-annual Financial Framework (MFF), Draft Amending Budgets

The Irish presidency gave a presentation on the progress made in the “trilogue negotiations” following an informal meeting which took place on Monday 13 May. This part of the General Affairs Council has been recorded and posted on the European Council’s website http://www.consilium.europa.eu/council/open-sessions/related-documents?debateid=1976&lang=en.

The Irish presidency informed the GAC that despite securing agreement for an amendment to the annual budget for 2013, which would allow an increase of €7.3 billion, this deal had been rejected by the European Parliament. The agreement was for the “Draft Amending Budget 2”, part of a package of amendments to the European Union budget which enable the Commission to move money within the ceilings to meet reprioritisation needs. The Chancellor of the Exchequer opposed the €7.3 billion deal as there has been insufficient evidence provided that these funds are required. The connection of this issue to the negotiations of the multi-annual financial framework (MFF) has slowed progress towards the final agreement of the MFF which could have implications on member states budgeting and financial planning for 2014, when the next MFF is due to commence.

I made it clear that these delays, are now putting pressure on the timetable for finalisation of the MFF. We are very keen for the European Parliament to agree to the deal reached at the February European Council, but we are not prepared to pay any price. The inconsistent demands of the European Parliament have led to an erosion of trust and as such our position is becoming less, not more, flexible. This view was echoed by others around the table and there is clear consensus on the need for the European Parliament to take the negotiations seriously and to make requests that are consistent with the clear boundaries of what the Council is able to accept, outlined in the February European Council conclusions.

22 May European Council preparation

The focus of the 22 May European Council was on tax evasion and avoidance, and energy. There was additionally a discussion on Syria.

I welcomed the forthcoming discussion by leaders on tax given the focus on this subject by the G8, of which we currently hold the presidency. I emphasised that such a global problem requires a global solution which would be of enormous benefit to the EU; there was no point in addressing evasion and avoidance at EU level if the problem simply moved to third countries.

The EU however could play a leading role in supporting a single global standard of automatic exchange of information. Agreeing the amended savings directive would be a signal of the European Union’s intent. Other Ministers outlined their priorities for areas of work that should be given the greatest focus, but overall there was a consensus for work to be advanced in this area and the ground was laid for a constructive discussion at leaders’ level at the European Council on 22 May.

On energy, a number of member states, with varying degrees of ambition, wanted a greater emphasis on the ending of energy isolation and stronger interconnections. We argued that the answer at the EU level should be to ensure the right conditions are in place for competitive, liquid markets through full implementation of single market legislation. We also need a sensible policy framework to enable investment.

27-28 June European Council preparation

The presidency introduced the annotated draft agenda for the June European Council, which will focus on economic and monetary union (EMU) and economic growth. The General Affairs Council will return to more detailed preparations of this at its meeting in June.

Report on the Implementation of European Council conclusions

The Irish presidency presented a report on the follow-up and implementation of European Council conclusions. In part this was due to previous requests I have made for the General Affairs Council to play a greater role in the follow-up of European Council conclusions. The UK has been pushing an ambitious EU reform agenda and greater oversight by the General Affairs Council helps to enable us to keep up the momentum on this work.

Foreign Affairs/Development Foreign Affairs Councils

David Lidington Excerpts

Tuesday 21st May 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) on 27 May and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development will attend the Development Foreign Affairs Council on 28 May. These meetings will be held in Brussels, and will be chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland.

Foreign Affairs Council

Syria

On Syria, Ministers will discuss the regional ramifications of the crisis and the prospects for the Geneva II talks. We will seek agreement to amend the arms embargo to allow EU countries the flexibility to provide greater support to the moderate opposition, including a broader range of military equipment.

Common Security and Defence Policy

Ministers will discuss preparations for the December European Council discussion on defence, with a focus on the first of the three taskings agreed at the December 2012 European Council. These taskings were to increase the effectiveness of the common security and defence policy (CSDP); enhance EU capabilities; and strengthen the European defence industrial base. We will encourage the discussion on the first tasking to focus on practical measures that improve cost-effectiveness of the EU’s civilian and military missions and operations and deliver more effect on the ground, while continuing to ensure complementarity with NATO.

Middle East Peace Process

This is the first discussion of MEPP since the February FAC, at which EU Ministers addressed the deteriorating prospects for a two-state solution, and the importance of engaging the US. This discussion will be an opportunity to agree the focus of EU policy and engagement on the MEPP for the coming months. The UK will focus on how the EU can contribute actively, alongside other regional and international partners, to efforts led by the United States to drive progress on the MEPP. This will include the incentives the EU could offer the parties to reach a negotiated solution. The UK will reiterate the importance of predictable, sufficient support for the PA and its institutions, as well as support for efforts to reinvigorate the Palestinian private sector.

Iran E3+3

Baroness Ashton is expected to update Ministers on the latest progress on E3+3 nuclear talks with Iran, including her meeting with the Iranian chief negotiator Jalili in Istanbul on 15 May. No discussion is expected.

Mali

Baroness Ashton is expected to update Ministers on the latest progress in Mali, including on the progress made at the donors’ conference which took place in Brussels on 15 May. Discussion is expected to be limited.

Somalia

The Foreign Secretary will brief colleagues on the 7 May London conference, and will look ahead to the September Brussels conference.

Development Foreign Affairs Council

Council Conclusions to be adopted by the Council

We expect Ministers to adopt Council conclusions on the annual report 2013 to the European Council on EU development aid targets, the EU approach to resilience: learning from food security crises, and food and nutrition security in external assistance. The Government welcome these conclusions.

Post-2015 Millennium Development Goals Framework and Rio +20 Follow-up

This will be the main item for discussion. Ministers will debate the EU approach to the post-2015 development agenda and Rio+20 follow up. Council conclusions are expected to be adopted in June.

Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for Change

The Commission and European external action service will give an update on the implementation of this policy and anticipated process for delivery in the next programming period (2014-2020).

Information Points

There will be information points on food and nutrition security, member states’ 2012 overseas development assistance (ODA) figures. Policy coherence for development, the 11th European development fund and local authorities.

General Affairs Council

David Lidington Excerpts

Tuesday 14th May 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

I will attend the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 21 May in Brussels. The GAC will be chaired by the Irish presidency and will focus on the multiannual financial framework (MFF), the preparation for the 22 May European Council and the preparation of the 27-28 June European Council as well as follow-up to previous European Councils.

Multiannual financial framework (MFF) draft amending budgets

We expect the Irish presidency to give a presentation on the progress made in the “trilogue negotiations” following an informal trilogue meeting which took place on Monday 13 May. The Irish presidency represents the European Council in these negotiations, which are between the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has made clear that they see the MFF as linked to discussion of the large, €11.2 billion draft amending budget for 2013. I will emphasise that we see the two as distinct issues and progress on the MFF should not be hindered by the separate discussions on the draft amending budgets. There is no evidence at this early stage in the annual budget cycle that extra funding is needed or justified. I will continue to argue, along with our like-minded allies, that this is far too large and there is insufficient evidence to justify these requests. On the MFF we will continue to encourage the European Parliament to consent to the deal as soon as possible, and that the ceilings from the February European Council agreement must be respected.

22 May European Council preparation

The 22 May European Council will focus on tax evasion and avoidance and energy. There will be an update on the latest developments on economic and monetary union (EMU), and there may also be discussion on foreign policy priorities.

We welcome discussion of action to be taken on tax. The Prime Minister has been driving work on this area through the UK presidency of the G8 and will take a leading role in pursuing global action to tackle tax evasion and avoidance, including through the EU. Our principal objective at the May European Council is to ensure that EU action on tax complements action being carried out through the G8, G20 and OECD and contributes to a global tax agenda which clamps down on tax evasion and avoidance.

On energy, the European Council will discuss the energy challenges confronting the EU in the context of the EU’s competitiveness agenda. President of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, and President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, have both sought to focus work on completing the internal energy market, boosting investment in modern energy infrastructure and the challenge of high energy prices.

The UK energy market has historically been one of the most open and transparent in Europe and we have consistently supported and called for the completion of the internal energy market. We remain committed to ambitious action on climate change but want to ensure that energy supply is maintained during the low-carbon transition. We will support revisions to the EU’s state aid rules to facilitate investments in low-carbon power generation and we will be seeking to avoid unnecessary EU restrictions on member states, who should be free to decide on their own energy mix.

27-28 June European Council preparation

We expect discussion of the agenda for the June European Council agenda at the GAC. The June European Council will focus on economic policy. This includes the European semester, which is the annual cycle of economic policy co-ordination in the EU, the growth compact which will look at further economic and monetary union within the eurozone, following the last discussion on this in the March European Council, and industrial competitiveness.

The agenda for the June European Council may also discuss foreign policy priorities, which will evolve closer to the Council itself.

Report on the European Council follow-up

Finally the Irish presidency is expected to present a report on the follow-up and implementation of European Council conclusions. We do not expect much discussion on this point. If a discussion does develop, however, I will emphasise the need to maintain momentum on progress towards fulfilling the objectives outlined in the Prime Minister’s EU growth agenda, which focuses on trade, reducing the burdens of regulation and deepening and strengthening the single market, including through the creation of a digital single market.

General Affairs/Foreign Affairs/Defence Foreign Affairs Councils

David Lidington Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs attended the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and I attended the General Affairs Council (GAC) in Luxembourg on 22 April. My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Defence (Dr Murrison), who is responsible for international security strategy, attended the Defence Foreign Affairs Council (Defence FAC) and the European Defence Agency steering board in Luxembourg on 22-23 April. The GAC was chaired by the Irish presidency, namely the Foreign Minister for Ireland, Eamon Gilmore, and the FAC and Defence FAC were chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland.

Commissioners Reding (justice, fundamental rights and citizenship), Füle (enlargement) and Lewandowski (financial programming and budget) were in attendance for some of the discussions at the GAC, and Commissioners Georgieva (international co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response), Oettinger (Energy), Füle (enlargement) and Tajani (industry and entrepreneurship) were in attendance for some of the discussions at the FAC and Defence FAC.

General Affairs Council

The 22 April GAC focused on enlargement, the multiannual financial framework, preparation for the May European Council and EU fundamental values, specifically democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

A provisional report of the meeting and conclusions adopted can be found at:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/genaff/136915.pdf.

Enlargement reports for Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia

Commissioner Füle presented joint EEAS-Commission reports on Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia.

Baroness Ashton briefed the GAC on the 19 April agreement between Serbia and Kosovo reached through an EU-facilitated dialogue. Member states welcomed the agreement and praised Baroness Ashton for her positive role.

On Macedonia, Füle noted that implementation had continued on reforms through the high-level accession dialogue and that steps had been taken on good neighbourly relations alongside a new momentum to resolve the name issue.

Multiannual financial framework

The presidency outlined the European Parliament’s demands on the MFF, namely: reform to the system of own resources; a mid-term review that would allow the ceilings levels agreed to be revisited; and flexibility in how the budget can be spent. I emphasised that nothing should undermine the deal that leaders reached in good faith in February. We needed faithful translations of those Council conclusions into the regulations.

There was some discussion of the draft amending budget for 2013 in which the Commission have requested an additional €11.2 billion to meet existing commitments and the European Parliament has linked to agreement on the MFF. I argued with other like-minded colleagues that this was clearly too high and that any amending budget must be based on evidence.

Initiative on democracy, human rights and the rule of law/EU fundamental rights

Denmark, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands sent a letter before the GAC asking for a discussion on their initiative for a new mechanism to safeguard fundamental values in member states and a greater role for the European Commission. Commissioner Reding gave an overview of the existing mechanisms for the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law. She undertook to come with a more detailed examination of this issue at the GAC in May.

I welcomed the letter from these member states calling for work on this initiative, acknowledging the challenge of ensuring that the rule of law, democracy and human rights are not eroded once countries join the EU, as many of the levers for delivering in these areas only apply during the accession process. However, there were already existing mechanisms to address these issues, both within the EU and through the Council of Europe and it was important to ensure that these were not duplicated and that member state competence in these areas was not compromised.

May European Council

The presidency gave a presentation on the agenda for the 22 May European Council which will discuss the following: the energy aspects of the single market; tax policy focusing on improving tax collection and tackling tax evasion and fraud; a stocktake on the deepening of economic and monetary union (EMU); and foreign policy issues. The GAC took note of the agenda without discussion.

Foreign Affairs Council

A provisional report of the meeting and conclusions adopted can be found at:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/136921.pdf.

Energy

Commissioner Oettinger introduced a lunch discussion on energy and foreign policy, drawing out in particular the need for diversification of supply, including pipeline development. The Foreign Secretary noted the potential impact of shale gas on global energy prices, stating that it was important that the EU developed its own shale gas reserves and kept regulation to a minimum. The Foreign Secretary also underlined that energy should form a key part of the EU’s free trade agreements; this would respond to the need for diversification that Commissioner Oettinger had highlighted. Ministers also discussed the importance of the EU developing its southern corridor pipeline.

Introduction

Baroness Ashton began the plenary session of the FAC by briefing on her activities on a range of issues. She started with an update on the Serbia/Kosovo dialogue, reiterating the message given at the GAC. Her efforts were again praised by Ministers. Baroness Ashton then outlined the state of discussions with Iran following the E3+3 (UK, France, Germany, China, Russia, US) talks with Iran in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 5-6 April, including next steps and the forthcoming presidential election. Baroness Ashton updated the Council on the situation regarding the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The FAC formally adopted a decision on restrictive measures against the DPRK, transposing sanctions under UN Security Council resolution 2094.

Southern neighbourhood

Baroness Ashton set out recent EU activity on Syria, including intensified contacts with Russia; discussions with UN and Arab League Special Representative Brahimi on how to build on the Geneva communique; additional humanitarian support to the opposition, plus amendments to sanctions; and a permanent EU presence in Gazaintep in Turkey to support cross-border projects. At the UK’s behest, working groups were tasked to look at all the options for supporting the opposition, including amendments to the EU arms embargo on Syria. The Council amended the oil embargo against Syria to allow for greater EU support to the Syrian opposition. Once the detail of the exemption and the necessary safeguards have been negotiated, which the UK will ensure are robust, the amendment will allow the EU to support the oil trade in areas free from regime control by supplying equipment and finance to the oil sector as well as purchasing oil directly.

On Lebanon, discussion primarily focused on the effects of the conflict in Syria, including the influx of refugees. Baroness Ashton stated that the EU and the international financial institutions needed to look at how to support the Lebanese Prime Minister designate’s efforts.

Baroness Ashton reported on her recent visit to Egypt, stating that while discussions with President Mursi had been constructive, the situation in Egypt remained fragile. She said that Egypt needed further financial support and to build political stability. The EU was a vital partner for Egypt and did not have the baggage of other international partners. The EU was talking to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank about the support they could provide and had provided advisers to Mursi on the proposed law on non-governmental organisations.

Eastern Partnership

Ministers discussed the Eastern Partnership, looking ahead to November’s summit in Vilnius. The UK made clear that it was open to initialling and signing association or deep and comprehensive free trade agreements, as long as conditionality is met. On Belarus, Ministers welcomed the news that Sweden can re-establish a diplomatic presence in Minsk, and reviewed the scope of travel bans. The Eastern Partnership will be discussed again at the June FAC, focusing on preparations for the July Eastern Partnership ministerial meeting. There will also be an early discussion of the Vilnius summit declaration.

Mali

Ministers adopted formal conclusions on Mali. Baroness Ashton gave an update on the work of the EU training mission, stating that it was now fully operational, although more contributions of equipment were needed. She updated on progress at the UN Security Council on the establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping operation for Mali. The Malian Government were now preparing for the July elections, with the first round of the presidential elections on 7 July: the EU would provide financial support and an observation mission. Baroness Ashton also noted that the members of the Reconciliation and Dialogue Commission had been appointed and would start work immediately.

Burma

Baroness Ashton outlined the remarkable progress made in Burma over the last 18 months. Significant challenges remained, but the EU was working closely with the Burmese Government and Aung San Suu Kyi to begin a new chapter in relations. To that end, Ministers agreed to lift sanctions, except the arms embargo and restrictions on equipment for internal repression, and adopted conclusions on the future of EU-Burma relations. Baroness Ashton also stated she would launch a taskforce to provide further political and economic support. Commissioner Georgieva welcomed the Burmese Government’s engagement on development assistance and outlined plans to share EU expertise on ethnic integration; provide political and financial support to the Rohingya; and continue to pressure the Government for humanitarian access to Kachin and Rakhine state.

Ministers discussed the importance of keeping human rights central to the EU’s planned comprehensive approach to Burma, and the need to develop a coherent framework for EU engagement with Burma, focusing on human rights and the resolution of ethnic and religious tensions. The UK also highlighted the need for greater international action to resolve the serious humanitarian situation in Rakhine state, and welcomed President Thein Sein’s commitment to renounce military ties with the DPRK.

Other business

Ministers agreed without discussion a number of others measures, including:

The Council approved the EU position for the EU-Algeria Association Committee regarding the implementation of the provisions concerning industrial products set out in the association agreement.

The Council approved preparations for the annual review of EU restrictive measures against certain persons, entities and bodies threatening the peace, security or stability of Guinea-Bissau.

The Council amended EU sanctions in view of the situation in Libya to take account of changes adopted at the UN. It permitted the supply of non-lethal military equipment and technical assistance intended solely for security or disarmament assistance to the Libyan Government. It also allowed the supply of small arms, light weapons and related materiel, for the sole use of UN personnel and development workers.

The Council reinforced restrictive measures against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea so as to implement UN Security Council resolution 2094 (2013).

The Council agreed conclusions on Iraq, expressing concern about recent violence but welcoming the relatively peaceful conduct of provincial elections. The conclusions commit the EU to long-term engagement with Iraq in our priority areas: rule of law and economic growth.

The Council adopted revised EU guidelines on the death penalty, outlining how the EU intends to continue its long-standing campaign against the death penalty.

The Council endorsed the 14th progress report on the implementation of the EU strategy to combat illicit accumulation and trafficking of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition. The report covers activities during the second semester 2012.

The Council amended the legal basis for the European Security and Defence college, allocated funding and approved an increase in seconded staff to the college.

The Council adopted the EU position on the rules of procedure of the economic partnership agreement (EPA) committee, the customs co-operation committee and the joint development committee provided for by the interim EPA with eastern and southern African states.

Defence Foreign Affairs Council

A provisional report of the meeting and conclusions adopted can be found at:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/136921.pdf.

Sahel/EU training mission Mali

Ministers discussed security threats in the Sahel and wider region over dinner, with a focus on the EU training mission (EUTM) to Mali. EUTM commander, General Lecointre, highlighted early successes in training the Malian armed forces but also the considerable challenges of training a severely limited army and officer corps lacking in equipment in only four months. Ministers praised France’s leading role in the response to the crisis but recognised the significant support required to rebuild Mali. The UK flagged the importance of earlier conflict prevention activity upstream demonstrated by the crisis in Mali. NATO Deputy Secretary-General Vershbow made the case for co-ordinated EU/NATO work on capability development.

European Defence Agency steering board

The EDA steering board addressed a number of capability issues, with the UK reiterating its offer regarding unallocated Voyager refuelling hours to help meet a shortfall across European nations’ capabilities. The EDA also reiterated the importance of better EU/NATO working, a key UK argument for a number of years.

December European Council

As part of a wider discussion on preparations for the December European Council Ministers concentrated on the defence industry. The UK and a number of key partners expressed closely aligned views on a number of issues, including competitiveness and access to non-European industry.

Battlegroups

Ministers discussed the EU battlegroup concept, focusing on member states considering adopting a more flexible and usable approach, in line with our intent. The UK highlighted its recent political exercise with its four battlegroup partner nations, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden and the Netherlands, as part of preparations for being on the battlegroup roster from 1 July.

Public Records Update

David Lidington Excerpts

Thursday 25th April 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

On 5 May 2011, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary informed Parliament of his intention to release to the public every paper from a large collection of colonial administration files, subject only to legal exemptions, Official Report, column 24WS. We remain on target to release these files by the end of 2013. The fifth tranche will be released at the National Archives (TNA) on 26 April 2013 in line with the published timetable on the www.Gov.uk website.

I also wish to inform the House that, following an initial release in 2005, we are making available a second tranche of files from the Permanent Under-Secretary’s Department (PUSD) on 23 May 2013. These files cover the years 1939-1951. This transfer of PUSD papers to TNA is part of a twin thematic release alongside a tranche of the Cabinet Secretary’s miscellaneous papers being released by the Cabinet Office. Both sets of papers are intelligence-related and the majority date from the second world war.

This Government are fully committed to transparency and openness. The release of Government records is an important part of our commitment.

General Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Defence Foreign Affairs Councils

David Lidington Excerpts

Thursday 18th April 2013 Written Statements

[The Minister for Europe (Mr David Lidington)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs will attend the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) and I will attend the General Affairs Council (GAC) on 22 April. My right hon. Friend the Minister for International Security Strategy will attend the Defence Foreign Affairs Council and the European Defence Agency steering board on 22 and 23 April. These meetings will be held in Luxembourg. The General Affairs Council will be chaired by the Irish presidency, and the Foreign Affairs Council and Defence Foreign Affairs Council will be chaired by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Baroness Ashton of Upholland.

General Affairs Council

The GAC will focus on enlargement, preparation of the May European Council and EU fundamental values, specifically democracy and the rule of law. The Irish presidency will update the Council on the multiannual financial framework: no discussion of this is expected.

Enlargement reports for Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia

There will be discussion of Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia, on the basis of reports from the European external action service and European Commission, released ahead of the GAC, on those countries’ progress on the issues set out in the December GAC conclusions. On Serbia and Kosovo the focus will be on latest developments in the EU-facilitated dialogue between the Prime Ministers of Serbia and Kosovo: the UK welcomes the leadership of Baroness Ashton and is keen to see further improvement in the relations between the two sides. As for Macedonia, the focus will be on that country’s reform efforts, good neighbourly relations, and progress on resolving the name dispute with Greece. I expect any conclusions on the reports to be largely procedural, with more detailed discussion at the June GAC.

May European Council

The 22 May European Council will discuss the energy aspects of the single market; discuss tax policy focusing on improving tax collection and tackling tax evasion and fraud; will take stock of the deepening of economic and monetary union (EMU); and will consider foreign policy issues. I will take this opportunity to highlight the importance of making further progress on the single market and the need to improve tax policy and transparency in support of the priorities for the G8 summit in June.

EU fundamental rights

Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland and Germany jointly sent a letter to President Barroso on 6 March 2013, emphasising the importance of the rule of law, human rights and democracy; the fundamental values of the Union. The letter called for an EU mechanism to protect these fundamental values, and suggested that the European Commission should play a greater role in this area. At the request of the signatories this issue will be discussed at the GAC. I will underline the importance of safeguarding the rule of law, human rights and democracy within the Union. I will also acknowledge the link between effective justice systems and economic growth, as identified in the letter. I will highlight the important role already played by the Council of Europe in relation to fundamental values and encourage the Council to bear this valuable contribution in mind. The letter did not go into detail on how any EU mechanism would work, therefore I will not be commenting on the specifics of any proposal at this stage. The UK remains keen to see that any future mechanism respects areas of member state competence.

Foreign Affairs Council

Energy

Ministers will discuss EU external relations on energy and the southern corridor pipeline. We welcome this discussion and support the development of a southern corridor, bringing Caspian gas to Europe via Turkey. The increasingly interconnected nature of the EU gas market means there will be indirect benefits to the UK of additional gas supplies to Europe, and a more stable and diverse European gas market.

Serbia and Kosovo

Baroness Ashton is likely to update Ministers on progress on the EU-facilitated Serbia and Kosovo dialogue. The UK welcomes the leadership of Baroness Ashton on this and is keen to see further improvement in the relations between the two sides. However we are clear that we must see progress on all of the Kosovo-related conditionality set out at the December GAC if we are to agree to open accession negotiations with Serbia at the June GAC.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ministers may also consider progress made by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) leaders on agreeing changes to the constitution to bring it into line with the European Court of Human Rights judgment on Sejdic and Finci. We will reaffirm our continued commitment to BiH’s EU perspective but are clear that existing conditionality must be met and that continued inaction will not go unnoticed. The onus is on BiH’s leaders to demonstrate their commitment and willingness to work together so as to make progress on the EU agenda in the interests of its citizens.

Iran E3+3

Baroness Ashton will update Ministers on the latest round of E3+3 nuclear talks with Iran, which took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 5 and 6 April. Iran showed some willingness to engage on the substance, but its current position falls far short of what is needed for a diplomatic breakthrough. As a result, the E3+3 did not immediately agree to a further meeting but returned to capitals to consider how to move forward.

Eastern partnership

Ministers will have a discussion on the eastern partnership, looking ahead to November’s eastern partnership summit in Vilnius. We expect the discussion to focus in particular on Ukraine and Belarus. The UK remains committed to a closer relationship between the EU and Ukraine, and we will continue to make clear that progress is dependent on Ukraine making necessary reforms. On Belarus, we welcome the news that Sweden can re-establish a diplomatic presence in Minsk. We will continue to make clear that development of the relationship with Belarus is conditional upon improvements in human rights, democracy and the rule of law, including the release and rehabilitation of political prisoners.

Southern neighbourhood

On Syria, Ministers will discuss the deteriorating situation on the ground, including the humanitarian aspects and the EU response to it, and the need to provide support to the Syrian National Coalition. We will emphasise the need to consider amending the EU sanctions package.

On Lebanon, following the recent resignation of Prime Minister Mikati and the appointment of Mr Tamam Salara as Prime Minister designate, the discussion is likely to focus on the need to encourage the swift formation of a cabinet; for consensus over a new elections law; and for timely parliamentary elections. Ministers are also likely to discuss the effects of the conflict in Syria, with Lebanon now host to nearly 400,000 refugees, impacting on its security, stability and economy.

Baroness Ashton will report back from her recent visit to Egypt. The UK will voice backing for ongoing EU support of Egyptian political and economic reform, but emphasise also the importance of the “more for more” principle in EU engagement with Egypt.

Mali

The discussion on Mali will focus on the need for further progress to be made on national dialogue and reconciliation, leading to elections scheduled for July. Ministers will take stock of developments in New York, following the UN Security Council’s negotiations on a resolution authorising a UN operation in Mali. They will also consider the EU’s overall common security and defence policy (CSDP) response to Mali and the Sahel region, in the context of the EU’s strategy for security and development in the Sahel.

Burma

Ministers will discuss the situation in Burma in the context of reviewing EU restrictive measures, which are currently suspended apart from the arms embargo and restrictions on the supply of equipment which could be used for internal repression. We expect conclusions to welcome the significant reforms and highlight the challenges that remain, including the situation in Rakhine state and the plight of the Rohingya; the need to reach a ceasefire with the Kachin, and move towards political dialogue with all Burma’s ethnic groups; and to release remaining political prisoners. We will emphasise the importance of a more comprehensive approach to future EU engagement with Burma in the run up to and beyond national elections in 2015.

European Defence Agency steering board

The European Defence Agency (EDA) steering board on 23 April will focus on preparations for the agency’s input to the December 2013 European Council on defence, concentrating on increasing the effectiveness, visibility and impact of the common security and defence policy (CSDP); enhancing the development of defence capabilities; and strengthening Europe’s defence industry. The steering board will consider the EDA’s proposals to explore possibilities to expand pooling demand to cover the whole life-cycle; to intensify its efforts to support battlegroups and EU operations; and identify with member states co-operative projects to improve the pooling demand concept. To enhance the development of defence capabilities, the EDA will invite the steering board to endorse actions to increase co-operation between member states.

The EDA will invite the steering board to endorse proposals to launch “pioneer projects” in remote piloted aircraft systems, cyber defence and secure telecom by satellite. The board will note the progress made in the air-to-air refuelling project and will be invited to endorse the establishment of a category A programme on the military implementation of single European sky ATM research (SESAR). The UK is supportive of the EDA’s air-to-air refuelling project, and has offered unallocated UK Voyager flying hours to interested nations on a “pool and charge” basis. We will invite member states interested in clearing aircraft to declare their interest in the UK project with the EDA as soon as possible.

Defence Foreign Affairs Council

EU training mission Mali

Ministers will discuss current EU CSDP operations, focusing on EU training mission (EUTM) Mali, over dinner on Monday 22 April. General Lecointre, head of mission EUTM Mali, will provide an update on progress on training the Malian armed forces. Discussion is likely to cover developments on the future of the African-led international support mission to Mali, AFISMA, the provision of equipment for the Malian armed forces, and a possible UN peacekeeping role. The chair of the EU Military Committee will provide an update on other military missions. We will reiterate ongoing UK support for the EU CSDP missions and operations.

December European Council

Ministers will discuss preparations for the December 2013 European Council on defence. We will set out the UK aims, which are to ensure that there is a focus on the comprehensive approach and complementarity with NATO; to improve cost-effectiveness and operational delivery; to enhance capabilities that benefit both NATO and the EU; and for this to be underpinned by a strengthened defence industrial base that will help boost longer-term competitiveness and economic growth.

Battlegroups

The UK will lead the EU battlegroup (EUBG) in the second half of 2013 with Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden and the Netherlands. Preparing for this role not only demonstrates our commitment to the concept but also provides training and transformational benefits, including for our partners. We will set out our view on the possible closer integration of the battlegroup into the EU’s wider tools and strategies, making it clear that we are not looking to alter the level of ambition, nor to reopen the battlegroup concept. We will continue to push for the battlegroup to be a more credible, usable and deployable entity, working closely with civilian actors, to make a positive contribution to international crisis management. Future UK offers to act as a framework nation for the EUBG will be kept under review.