On 2 February 2016 the Dutch Presidency of the European Union held an informal meeting of the Ministers of International Development and Trade Ministers of its Member States, the Foreign Affairs Council. Representing Hungary at the meeting was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Deputy State Secretary for International Cooperation Ádám Zoltán Kovács .
The Development Ministers discussed the handling of the driving factors behind the migration that is affecting Europe, the international development implications of EU’s new global security and foreign affairs strategy, which is currently in development, and the future of the existing Cotonou Agreement with partners from the Caribbean and Pacific. The goal of the new strategy is the balanced representation of European interests and values in EU foreign affairs via the facilitation of the peace and security required for sustainable development.
During the debate on migration, the Ministers primarily focussed on the conflict in Syria. They agreed that in addition to the humanitarian required for the survival of Syrian refugees and migrants, EU funding should also facilitate the development and the provision of education and housing in the mid-term, and especially in the interests of enabling refugees to continue living within the vicinity of their countries of origin. Most refugees and migrants would not leave the area if they could find work in neighbouring countries and had the opportunity to return home to Syria after the war is over. This requires the expansion of funding as well as loan constructions that diminish risks for infrastructure development projects, in the interests of which the Commission is recommending the involvement of the EBRD and the World Bank. A donor conference will be held in London on 4 February in the interests of supporting the settling of the political situation in Syria via development instruments. Several Member States have indicated that the event should also include the state of Iraq, and especially the Kurdish northern part of the country.
Within the framework of a joint lunch, the Foreign Affairs Council reviewed possible steps by the EU and its Member States to make trans-border productions chains more sustainable in the spirit of UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The session continued with an informal meeting of trade ministers, who listened to Commission reports assessing the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference and on the continuation of the Doha Development Round. The Member States also discussed their standpoints regarding the 12th round of talks on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), after which the Commission presented a report on China’s market economy status.