EU MINISTERS OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS TO DISCUSS EU ENLARGEMENT, PREPARE EUROPEAN COUNCIL MEETING
The meeting of the General Affairs Council on December 17 in Brussels is expected to adopt conclusions on EU enlargement and approve a mandate to start negotiations with Serbia.
Following the Commission’s yearly progress reports issued in October, the Council, chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius, will adopt conclusions on enlargement and the stabilisation and association process. It will assess the progress made by Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, Kosovo, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.
The Ministers will prepare the European Council meeting on 19–20 December. They will also discuss its draft conclusions, including issues related to the Common Security and Defence Policy, the deepening of the Economic and Monetary Union, economic and social policy, energy, enlargement, and migration.
Furthermore, the Council is due to adopt conclusions on the review of the External Action Service. Minister Linkevičius will present the outcome of the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Cohesion Policy, which took place on November 26 in Vilnius.