GENERAL AFFAIRS & EXTERNAL RELATIONS COUNCIL: SERBIA, IRAQ AND SPRING ECONOMIC SUMMIT TOP MARCH 18-19 AGENDA.

External Relations.

A whole range of issues will be discussed during the External Relations section of the Council, which gets under way at 3pm on Tuesday, March 18. According to the provisional agenda, Ministers will hold an orientation debate on the effectiveness of the EU's external actions. The Commission will present its new Communication on Wider Europe (see European Report 2758, Section V), followed by a round-table discussion. The Presidency intends to pick up the debate again in April in view of the April 17 European Conference on Wider Europe in Athens. There will also be a debate on EU-Russia relations, in particular in view of objectives for the EU-Russia Summit on May 31 in St. Petersburg. The discussion will be based on a Greek Presidency paper, a Commission working document and a paper from the Council Secretariat.

Discussions on the Western Balkans will inevitably be dominated by the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic (see separate article in Section V). Ministers will also adopt Conclusions in the light of recent events. Presidency officials have confirmed that the issue of Croatia's EU membership bid will be tabled in April. The Council has to formally invite the Commission to prepare an Opinion on Croatia's candidate status. It now appears that the Middle East, and Iraq, will be discussed over dinner. North Korea is also on the agenda. Under the EU's European Defence and Security Policy (ESDP), Foreign Ministers will discuss final preparations for the launch of the EU's first military operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of...