Agriculture ministers were meeting inside to discuss that topic among others foreign minister were

Agriculture ministers were meeting inside to discuss that topic, among others; foreign minister were discussing Bosnia Photograph: Reuter. So it has acres of meeting rooms and plenty of cafeterias, banqueting rooms, bars and restaurants. The cacophony outside was not a comment on snouts in the trough but a protest against live-animal transport. The Justus Lipsius building, named after a long- dead jurist, is across the road from the Berlaymont, which once housed the European Commission but is now empty. The Council also meets for three months a year in Luxembourg but the Justus Lipsius building is the main home for the EU's most powerful institution.

Brussels - To the accompaniment of honks, squeals and moos, the European Union yesterday unveiled its newest building, writes Andrew Marshall. Herve de Charette, French Foreign Minister (above), represented the EU presidency at the opening of the pink palace that will accommodate the Council of Ministers, which brings ministers from member states together several times a month. But, he acknowledges, ''In the future, much more important than the quantity of aid will be the quality.''. But given the present climate for aid in the EU, it may be that this means a reduction in the total volume of assistance. Mr Pinheiro, who wants to reorientate aid to ensure that it survives, contests this. Few defend the targeting of assistance on 70 rather arbitrarily chosen countries.''There are signs that the new EU member states, in particular Sweden, will support a global development policy allocating EU aid on a poverty basis rather than in terms of the past colonial links of some member states,'' the Overseas Development Institute says in its latest briefing paper. But critics say that the EU will have to confront a very basic issue over the next few years: what is EU aid for?The Lome scheme is almost certainly dead in the longer term, officials said.''Sooner or later we would have to abandon this idea of a fund,'' said one senior official.

They complain that the EU is too bureaucratic, that policy is driven too much from Brussels and that frequently it overlaps or conflicts with member- state priorities.The EU is already experimenting with closer on-the-ground co-ordination of aid between member states in a number of countries including Mozambique. ''We can't finance a country that is spending huge amounts for the military, or that is not proceeding with democracy, nor can we finance corrupt governments.''But there are are other problems with EU aid, according to officials on the ground and representatives of non-government organisations. Aid is also likely to be increasingly tied to good government, a controversial practice, as aid agencies say it is not entirely clear what it is and that different donors use different definitions.On his recent visit to Mozambique, Mr Pinheiro said the EU would increasingly take a tough line with countries not keeping to the rules. ''Those who make the greatest effort should be rewarded; those who don't should be penalised,'' says Mr Pinheiro.

At that point, the scheme could be renegotiated and perhaps brought within the EU budget.There are deeper concerns about aid, however, which go beyond the amounts involved. Britain is particularly concerned that an increasing amount of its cash is going through multilateral institutions.More conditions are likely to be set. A solution is only likely to be reached as the Cannes summit next month approaches.The answer to the current problem probably lies in a short- term fix, diplomats and Commission officials say. One option is to reach a deal for a shorter period, with another review in perhaps three years. The latest proposal from the Commission was 13.3bn ecus, about the same in real terms as the last package But Britain and Germany have continued to resist this.