EU market-opening plan for poorest countries

European Union foreign ministers, meeting today in Brussels, are to discuss a controversial proposal to lift virtually all restrictions on imports from the world's poorest countries.

The initiative, which has been put forward by the EU's executive arm the European Commission, would abolish import quotas and tariffs on everything except weapons.

The United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, has strongly endorsed the move.

But some EU member countries -- notably France and Spain -- have threatened to bring down the deal because of the harm they say it would do to their own industries. The foreign ministers are also expected to discuss the security situation in the Balkans and aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Later in the day they're due to fly to Nice for the formal signing of the Nice treaty which paves the way for the future enlargement of the EU.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service