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Europaudvalget 2009-10, Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2009-10
Det Europæiske Råd 16/09-10 Bilag 2, UPN Alm.del Bilag 123
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COUNCIL OF

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 7 September 2010

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CO EUR-PREP 47

NOTE

from :

to :

Subject :

The General Secretariat of the Council

COREPER/General Affairs Council

European Council (16 September 2010)

– Draft conclusions

In accordance with article 2(3)(a) of the Council's Rules of Procedure, delegations will find

attached the draft conclusions prepared by the President of the European Council, in close

cooperation with the member of the European Council representing the Member State holding the

six-monthly Presidency of the Council and with the President of the Commission.

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The European Council discussed how to give new momentum to the Union's external relations,

taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the Lisbon Treaty. It looked ahead to a

number of important events over the coming weeks and months and agreed on the best way to

prepare for these events. It also decided on a number of concrete measures to more generally

enhance the effectiveness of the Union's external policy. This should allow Europe to defend its

interests and values more assertively and in a spirit of reciprocity.

[Task

Force on economic

governance.]

RELATIONS WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS

A changing world: a challenge for the EU

Europe is facing many challenges in a rapidly changing world. Economic globalization,

climate change, migration, terrorist threats, regional conflicts, all require a concerted

international response. The recent economic and financial crisis has dramatically shown the

extent to which the well-being, security and quality of life of Europeans depend on external

developments. At the same time, the crisis has accelerated the shifts in interests and perceived

influence of the key players on the global stage that were already underway, with the

emergence of new centres of growth and dynamism, in particular in Asia and South America.

There is a growing need for the European Union to be an effective global actor, ready to share

in the responsibility for global security and to take the lead in the definition of joint responses

to common challenges. It can draw on its firmly-rooted belief in effective multilateralism and

universal values and a unique range of instruments. The European Union remains the largest

donor to countries in need, it is the first trading power in the world, and it has developed

promising tools for crisis management, allowing the launching of a number of civil and

military ESDP missions. It also plays a major stabilizing role in its neighbourhood.

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The challenge for the European Union and its Member States is to act more strategically so

that Europe's true weight can be brought to bear internationally. This requires a clearer

identification of its strategic interests and objectives at a given moment and a more focussed

reflection on the means to pursue them. It also calls for improving synergies between the

European Union and national levels, for enhancing coordination between institutional actors,

for better integrating all relevant instruments and policies and for using summit meetings with

third countries more effectively.

The Lisbon Treaty provides new opportunities in that respect. The explicit role given to the

European Council in identifying the strategic interests and objectives of the Union in the field

of external relations, the creation of the new functions of President of the European Council

and of High Representative, the establishment of the European External Action Service, and

the confirmation of the major Commission role in the external field should help increase the

coherence, effectiveness and visibility of the European Union's external action.

The EU's strategic partnerships with key players in the world provide a useful instrument for

pursuing European objectives and interests. This will only work if they are two-way streets

based on reciprocal interests and benefits and on the recognition that all actors have rights as

well as duties. The full participation of emerging economies in the international system

should allow its benefits to be spread in a balanced manner and its responsibilities to be

shared evenly.

Orientations for upcoming events

The European Union will hold a number of important international meetings in the coming

weeks. They require clear strategic guidance by the European Council and optimal

preparation by the Council.

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October will see summits with China and South Korea and the biannual Asia-Europe Meeting

(ASEM), followed soon afterwards by a summit with India. They are a good opportunity to

engage with key partners in a very dynamic part of the world. Issues such as the respective

roles in achieving a sustainable recovery from the economic crisis and in seeking global

solutions to universal challenges will be on the agenda. The European Union will also explore

concrete ways of enhancing cooperation on major economic and political themes between

Europe and Asia, with particular focus on market access and investment conditions, climate

change, intellectual property rights, public procurement, exchange rate policy and labour

standards. It will foster people to people relations and seek more open societies as a way of

promoting good governance and human rights. The EU also intends to address pressing

security issues such as non-proliferation and piracy.

Over the coming months there will be a number of other important external relations issues

which will have to be addressed by the European Council.

An important event is the G20 summit that will take place in Seoul on 11 November.

The input of the European Union has been decisive in enhancing the G20's role in

international economic and financial issues. The meeting in Seoul will allow to review

the global economic recovery and the commitments made by G20 members. In this

respect, the recent agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on the

financial supervision and regulation package strengthens the EU's hand. The European

Council will discuss the detailed preparation of Seoul at its October meeting.

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The transatlantic relation constitutes a core element of the international system. The

next European Union/United States summit will be held in November. The October

European Council will agree on the core political messages the European Union

representatives will bring to this major summit. Overcoming the economic crisis and

moving ahead on global governance will be at the top of the agenda. Our objective is to

fully exploit the relation's economic potential; in that respect the Transatlantic

Economic Council should be an important driver of further growth. It is also to find a

common approach to climate change and related technology and regulatory issues and

explore means of closer cooperation on energy issues. Future cooperation in the field of

peace, security and crisis management as well as EU/NATO relations could be another

topic, also in the context of the upcoming summit of NATO. To that end the High

Representative is invited to develop ideas on how the EU/NATO partnership could be

further strengthened.

The European Council will take stock of preparations for the Cancun conference at its

October meeting and agree on the EU position. The European Union remains

determined to reach an ambitious outcome and will play its part in that respect. It seeks

to work with other players and in particular its strategic partners, to play a constructive

role in the discussions. Cancun will not be the end point of the debate, but it will be

important to agree on concrete deliverables for all participants in order not to lose

momentum and stay on track for an ambitious and final settlement in South Africa in

2011.

The European Council is fully aware that the European Union's global credibility also

depends on its capacity of securing stability in its neighbourhood, particularly in the

Western Balkans. The European perspective given to the Western Balkans has

contributed much to strengthening the prosperity, stability and security of that region.

The European Council will look at this subject in more detail at its December session.

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Energy has over the last few years played an increasingly important role in the

European Union's agenda. It has become a key component of external relations and will

play a major role, including at the upcoming summits with Russia and the Ukraine. The

European Council has decided to hold a special meeting entirely devoted to the theme of

energy on 4 February.

Better governance

Looking at concrete measures to more generally improve the functioning of the European

Union's foreign policy, the European Council calls for a more integrated approach, ensuring

that all relevant EU and national instruments and policies are fully and coherently mobilised

in support of the European Union's strategic interests. The importance of issues like climate

change, energy policy, trade

or Justice and Home Affairs issues in dealings with partners and

at a multilateral level must be fully taken account of in preparations for summits and

international events. The practice of holding orientation debates well before summits can help

in that respect and should be further developed, with a particular emphasis on setting priorities

and concrete tasking to relevant Council bodies and EU delegations.

10.

Synergies need to be developed between the European Union's external relations and Member

States bilateral relations with third countries, in order to ensure that what is done at the level

of the European Union complements and reinforces what is done at the level of the Member

States and vice versa. There should be more active and regular sharing of information and

consultation on developments at the respective levels, on the basis of a running calendar of

EU and Member States' summits with major strategic partners.

In this connection, the European Council looks forward to the Commission's forthcoming

communication on the EU's trade strategy

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11.

Close and regular coordination between all the different institutional actors involved in the

definition and implementation of the European Union's external relations is necessary to

ensure that EU representatives can defend coherent positions on the whole range of the

strategic interests and objectives of the Union. The European External Action Service will

have a particular role to play in that respect. The European Council invites its President to

report back on efforts to that effect.

12.

Much progress has been achieved in the preparation, at the level of the European Union, for

multilateral summits. The European Council welcomes the practical arrangements reached

between the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission on the

EU representation in the G8 and G20 structures and invites them to continue to work towards

improving the way in which the European Union projects its views in such fora. The G8 and

the G20 will remain important fora for the definition of global responses to many of the

challenges facing us; the European Council therefore lends its full support to the ambition of

the incoming French chairmanship in 2011 to fully use the G20 and G8 to that end.

13.

The European Union needs a clear picture of the particular issues related to relations with the

individual partner States. The European Council therefore welcomes the work conducted so

far by the High Representative and the Foreign Affairs Council on some of the strategic

partners and asks them to pursue this task, evaluating the prospects of relations with all

strategic partners, and setting out in particular our interests and possible leverage to achieve

them. This will allow developing a medium-term planning setting out objectives to be reached

over time with each summit concentrating on two or three core issues.

14.

In this context, there should be a reflection on the frequency, format and output of those

summits, which need to be better targeted towards reaching EU objectives. The European

Council invites its President in cooperation with the President of the Commission to take any

necessary initiatives in view of improving the process.

II.

TASK FORCE ON ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE

p.m.

____________________

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