11 October: General Affairs Council

Date: 14/10/1999

EU FOREIGN ministers suffered a setback in their bid to strengthen Serbian opposition forces after leaders of the main anti-Milosevic groups turned down an invitation to meet ministers in Luxembourg. Only 17 out of 32 figures from groups opposed to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's regime attended the meeting in Luxembourg. Opposition leaders objected to demands by EU governments which would link aid and political support to handing suspects over to the international war crimes tribunal rather than lifting international sanctions on Serbia. Vladan Batic, a key figure in the Alliance for Change coalition, criticised the emphasis placed on handing over war criminals while ordinary Serbs faced fuel shortages. “There is no need for The Hague tribunal issue to be imposed as a priority. Our priority is the nation which will starve and freeze to death if there is no aid,” he said.

DESPITE the snub, EU foreign ministers pledged to lift the remaining sanctions, provide reconstruction aid and help Belgrade's return to international organisations provided Milosevic is ousted. In a goodwill gesture to the opposition, ministers agreed a pilot project to provide heating oil to two towns run by anti-Milosevic politicians. The scheme, which will deliver fuel to Nis and Pirot initially, could be extended to other areas if it proves successful.

MEMBER states failed to agree on which issues should be tackled in the forthcoming round of world trade liberalisation talks due to start at the end of the year. Following a meeting with their trade counterparts, foreign ministers were still divided over how much emphasis to out on labour standards in the talks. Germany, Sweden and Denmark want labour rights to be discussed in a special forum in the WTO. But some other countries, including the UK, are worried that this would go too far for developing countries, which see the plan as disguised protectionism. France also insisted that existing exemptions for cultural products like films should be continued in the new trade round, but this won little support from other member states. Union governments need to agree a common line before a meeting of trade ministers in Seattle next month which will decide the agenda for the next round of talks, or risk the EU's position being undermined by divisions.

FOREIGN ministers met their Israeli counterpart David Levy during the session in Luxembourg to discuss progress in the Middle East peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Finland's Tarja Halonen and Levy announced a new initiative to improve the Union's image in Israel by setting up a forum of politicians, leaders of the business community and academics.

MINISTERS finally approved the free-trade agreement with South Africa after last-minute hitches threatened to scupper the deal. Pretoria agreed to hold further discussions on the use of certain terms in the wine industry in response to 11th-hour demands from France for extra concessions. The deal will remove tariffs on 90&percent; of two-way trade between South Africa and the EU over the next 12 years. Arguments over Pretoria's insistence on its drinks producers being allowed to use the trade marks 'port' and 'sherry' had caused delays in signing the agreement, which was provisionally concluded in March this year.