The Council of ministers on “development” has defined the position of the European Union in preparation for the world summit on sustainable development scheduled to be held in Johannesburg, in South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September. The Council also adopted a series of resolutions and declarations on specific issues that will be on the agenda of the summit. In particular, the Ministers have identified as priorities of the EU policy for sustainable development four major sectors of intervention: the question of water resources in the developing countries, food security, health and the campaign against poverty, education and training. As regards food security, the declaration of the EU affirms that the world food summit to be held in Rome from 10 to 13 June represents a fundamental stage towards the Johannesburg Summit. As regards education, the Council’s resolution declares that “free and universal primary schooling must be the absolute priority of the strategy of cooperation in development pursued by the EU”. In the course of the meeting, the Commissioner for development Poul Nielson urged the member states (including Italy) that have not yet ratified the Cotonou Accord with the ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) countries to accelerate the process of ratification so as to permit the disbursement of contributions as soon as possible.
