The Council was briefed by the Luxembourg Presidency, the High Representative Javier Solana and the
Commission on the EU Ministerial Troika visit to Baghdad on 9 June 2005. The Council welcomed the visit, which marks a new stage in the Union's closer relations with Iraq.
The Presidency also informed delegations of the preparations for the international conference in Brussels on 22 June. This international ministerial conference with Iraq, which is jointly organised by the EU and the United States, will provide a forum for the new Iraqi transitional Government to present its priorities, its vision and its strategy for the transitional period leading up to the next elections towards the end of the year.
It will also be an opportunity to mobilise international support for the transitional Iraqi Government and its institutions. The conference will be organised around three themes referred to in United Nations Security Council Resolution 1546:
- political process;
- the challenges of reconstruction and developing the Iraqi economy;
- public order and the rule of law.