Minister Väyrynen to attend the Meeting of EU Ministers for Development Cooperation in Brussels
Press Release 311/2010
20 October, 2010
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will attend the Informal Meeting of EU Ministers for Development Cooperation in Brussels on 21–22 October. The agenda includes debate on the priorities and future trends of EU development policy within the new framework of the Lisbon Treaty.
Minister Väyrynen has made an inititiave for an EU global strategy that would guide the EU’s external relations in a comprehensive manner. The initiative is one of the topics for discussion at the meeting. The departure point of the initiative is that the future of the EU’s development policy must be seen as an integral element of the broader functionality and coherence of the EU’s external relations, and it should also take account of the compatibility of internal and external policies.
In addition, the other main topics of the meeting include budget support and its functionality as an instrument of development financing, Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and innovative financing mechanisms for development, which have risen to public debate along with the economic crisis and climate negotiations.
The meeting, hosted by Belgium, the EU Presidency country, will be chaired by the European Union High Representative and European Commission Vice-President Catherine Ashton, and will be held in the presence of European Commissioners Andris Piebalgs and Kristalina Georgieva in addition to the Ministers for Development Cooperation.
Additional information: Päivi Nevala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 753 4375, and Counsellor Sini Paukkunen, tel. +358 9 1605 6272
