22 April General Affairs Council

Date: 25/04/1996

EU foreign ministers reiterated their call for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, calling on both sides to stop their bombing and warning that further aggression would seriously threaten the Middle East peace process.

ONE thousand demonstrators from Kosovo protested outside the meeting as foreign ministers declared themselves ready for normal relations with Serbia and Montenegro (the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). They did insist, however, that Belgrade must respect human rights, allow refugees to return, and give the province of Kosovo, whose population is 92&percent; Albanian, a large degree of autonomy.

DEBATING how long the EU would continue to administer the Bosnian city of Mostar, which it has managed since July 1994, foreign ministers said they would wait for the outcome of elections in the city before deciding whether to extend the regime until Christmas. They asked new Mostar administrator Ricard Peres Casado to report back on what progress the city's Muslim and Croat populations are making with regard to elections, which, it is hoped, will take place on 31 May.

THE Union signed partnership and cooperation accords with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The presidents of the three Caucasian republics were on hand for the official launch of new ties with Central Asia. The Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents promised ministers they would continue to respect a two-year-old cease-fire in Nagorny Karabagh and try to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

GULF state ministers and their Union counterparts reported progress on negotiations toward a free trade agreement, and said they hoped for a deal as soon as possible. The EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising six countries on the Arab peninsula, have been working on the accord since 1988, but have made little progress until now. The EU wants the GCC to create a customs union and to protect European investments there.

FOREIGN ministers agreed to continue their controversial “critical dialogue” with Iran, despite US and Israeli arguments that Tehran should be isolated for supporting terrorist groups. The EU maintains that talks offer the only chance of softening the fundamentalist Islamic government's policies. The Union is, however, demanding that Tehran stop sponsoring opponents of Israeli-Palestinian peace, recognise Palestinian authority and show real support for the Middle East peace process.

THE ministers called on the US to abandon policies that bar foreign investment in Iran, Libya and Cuba. Noting their “deep concern” over the policies' effect on transatlantic trade, the ministers asked EU experts to study legal actions they could take against Washington, including a formal complaint to the World Trade Organisation. Washington's new anti-Cuba law allows retaliation against European companies that trade with Cuba. The EU also opposes proposed US legislation against foreign companies working in the oil and gas sectors in Iran and Libya. Ministers said the Union should “treat this question as a top priority within the framework of the transatlantic dialogue”.