Postponement of high-level EU mission

During an informal Council of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs held this weekend in Genval, Belgium, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs and current President of the Council of the European Union (EU) Louis Michel announced the postponement of a high level EU mission to central Africa scheduled for this week, due to recent developments in the Middle East and increased involvement of the EU in that region. For the first time since his appointment, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Javier Solana, along with Michel and EU commissioners Chris Patten (Foreign Affairs) and Poul Nielson (Development) were supposed to travel to the DRC, Burundi, Rwanda, as well as Angola and Zimbabwe, to support regional peace efforts. Michel also confirmed that the first Africa-EU meeting since the 2000 Cairo Summit would take place on 11 October 2001 in Brussels. It will be preceded the day before, also in Brussels, by a meeting among the heads of state of Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. During the recent G8 summit held in Genoa, Italy, these nations launched the “New African Initiative” for African recovery and a renewed partnership between Africa and the international community. The meeting will be held at the invitation of the Belgian presidency of the EU.