LOC12:48
09:48 GMT
BRUSSELS, April 25 (KUNA) -- The European Unions Foreign Affairs Council
(FAC) will meet in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday to discuss a number of
international issues like Afghanistan, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan, and Myanmar.
According to EU sources, the foreign ministers of the 27-member bloc will
hold a joint meeting Monday morning with EU defence ministers to discuss
Afghanistan and Common EU Security and Defence Policy.
They will be briefed by the EU foreign and security policy chief Catherine
Ashton on the six-monthly report on the implementation of the EUs Action Plan
for Enhanced Engagement in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ministers will then be joined by the Secretary-General of NATO, Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, for an informal discussion on military and civilian cooperation and
on EU-NATO cooperation in Afghanistan.
Foreign ministers will then meet separately, Monday at noon, to discuss the
situation in Sudan following the recent elections, for which the EU deployed
one of its largest observation missions.
The FAC is expected to welcome the largely peaceful conduct of the
elections as an important step in the implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement in Sudan.
On Burma/Myanmar, the Council is expected to call on the authorities to
take steps to bring about a peaceful transition to a democratic, civilian, and
inclusive system of government. It is also expected to decide to extend the
EU's sanctions against Burma/Myanmar for another year.
The FAC will discuss the recent events and continuing instability in
Kyrgyzstan and is expected to underline the importance of an early return to
public order under a democratic government that fully respects the rule of law.
Meanwhile, EU defence ministers will hold an informal dinner discussion,
chaired by Ashton, on Sunday evening in Luxembourg.
They will take stock of the preparations for the EUs External Action
Service and exchange views on EU Operations and missions in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Somalia, and Iraq.
The EU-African Union Ministerial Political Dialogue meeting will be held on
Monday, and a meeting of the EU-Egypt Association Council is due on Tuesday.
The FAC meets thrice every year in Luxembourg, in April, June, and October,
and the rest of its monthly meetings are held in Brussels.(end)
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KUNA 251248 Apr 10NNNN