Visit of the UN Secretary-General to the EU

press release

During his visit to Europe from 2 to 6 October next, the Secretary-General of the UN will have working meetings at the highest level with representatives of the European Union's Institutions.

Mr Annan will meet with the President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi, and with other EC Commissioners, as well as with the President of the Council of the European Union, Mr Hubert Vedrine, and the Secretary General/High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr Javier Solana.

These meetings which follow on from the meeting between the Secretary General and the EU Troika (Mr Hubert Vedrine, President of the Council of the EU, Mrs Anna Lindt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden, who will preside over the Council from January 2001, Mr Javier Solana, Secretary General/High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy and Mr Christopher Patten, External Relations Commissioner) in New York on 13 September 2000, demonstrate a common willingness to reinforce cooperation between the UN and the EU on major issues:

Peace and security

The EU has decided to equip itself with a rapid reaction force, which should be operational in 2003, and which will comprise both civilian and military components. The EU is keen to contribute to the reinforcement of the UN's capacity for the planning, setting up and execution of peacekeeping operations,

as proposed in Mr Brahimi's report, which had a positive resonance during the Millennium Summit in New York.

Development aid

The EU plays a very major role in the reduction of world poverty: it provides 50% of the budget for the UN's development programmes and funds as well as 54% of the world's public aid for development. In May 2001, the European Union will also host the third UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC) in Brussels. The EU recently renewed its partnership agreement with 77 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries at Cotonu for 20 years. The EU wants to ensure a more efficient cooperation between all partners in the development field.