GENERAL AFFAIRS COUNCIL: RUSSIA AND BANANAS LEAD 10-11 JULY AGENDA.

EU Foreign Ministers will examine relations with Russia - where they will have to make a crucial decision on how far to resume something approaching normal relations. If the EU's TACIS programme of technical assistance is to go ahead in 2000, work must move ahead on it immediately, because of the lead time for preparing and approving projects; the alternative is to send a very negative signal to Russia that the EU's technical assistance for this year is not only slowed down, but virtually stopped. It is likely that the Council will agree conclusions that will provisionally allow preparations for an almost full TACIS programme. Most Member States now say they want to see some of the Helsinki restrictions rolled back, in the light of the establishment of a new leadership in Moscow - even if they want to retain a critical tone over continuing Russian failure to resolve the Chechnya conflict in what the EU sees as a satisfactory fashion. The Conclusions will probably reflect this provisional endorsement of a new relationship with Russia - in the knowledge that if there is still no satisfactory progress on Chechnya by later in the year, TACIS programming can still be held back at the last minute.Bananas.The EU's international dispute over its wish to retain preference for its traditional banana suppliers is coming to a head. "We are at a turning point on bananas", one senior diplomat said during the preparations for the General Affairs Council. The Commission is perceived by Member States as running out of patience, following eight months of intensive discussions on bananas, during which a compromise with non-EU countries has still not been possible because of continuing disagreements on what should be used as historic reference periods. On 5 July, the Commission proposed to continue studying a transitional system of tariff quotas, but at this stage on a first come, first served basis for the three tariff quotas (a tariff preference of Euro 275 per tonne for the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) countries would apply - see article in Section V). European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy will explain his plan to the Council, and the Commission is also sticking to its proposal for an automatic transition, on 1 January 2006, to a system based on tariffs only. In addition, the Commission will ask to be given authority to begin negotiations with relevant suppliers in order to implement a flat tariff system, in case no solution can be found on the tariff...