1. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE SESSIONS 10-12 JANURAY 2000
Development Committee
In his presentation to the Development Committee, the Portuguese Minister for Development and President in Office of the EU Development Council, Mr Amado, outlined three specific priorities for Portugal on development: 1) Greater legitimacy and efficiency of EU Development Policy; 2) The successful conclusion of the ACP-EU Negotiations; and 3) The EU-Africa Summit which was supposed to take place on 3-4 April. It is however still not clear whether this meeting will take place.
EU Commissioner for Development, Poul Nielson, in his presentation to the Committee expressed his optimism that the EU-Africa Summit will eventually take place. He also revealed to the Committee that NGOs would be invited to participate in the debate on the Commission’s re-orientation of development policies. According to Mr Nielson this will be the most important issue during the EU Development Council meeting in May.
Constitutional Affairs Committee – Clash on institutional reforms
During discussions with a representative from the Portuguese Government, MEPs belonging to Constitutional Affairs Committee, called on the Portuguese Government to give the European Parliament¨(EP) assurances that the agenda for EU institutional reform will be broadened during the forthcoming EU Intergovernmental Assembly (IGC). At last year’s EU Summit in Helsinki, EU Heads of State agreed that the agenda for institutional reform be restricted to only three issues, i.e., the size and composition of the Commission, the re-weighting of voting in the EU Council and the extension of qualified majority voting in the Council. The Portuguese Presidency was assigned the task of proposing new topics for the agenda for institutional reform, which would be subject to the approval of EU Heads of States. Several MEPs have long proposed that the agenda for institutional reform include a wide range of issues including issues relating to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and the Charter on Fundamental Rights of the EU. The European Parliament has to give it opinion on the matter before reforms can start, and many MEPs are now threatening to withhold the EP’s opinion unless they are giving assurances that the agenda will be broadened. The EP base their argument on the fact that the EU Treaty calls for a broad agenda for institutional reform, if it is foreseen that the EU’s membership will exceed 20 countries. At present, as the EU is negotiating with more than five countries on accession to the EU, it can be foreseen that the EU’s membership will eventually exceed 20 countries.
2. EU-SOUTH AFRICA AGREEMENT
The European Commission this week debated the legal implications of Italy’s reservation regarding ratification of the EU-South Africa Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement. The Italian Government first wishes to obtain guarantees concerning the protection of the brand name “Grappa” in the separate EU-South Africa Wine and Spirits Agreement. According to the Commission’s Legal Department, the Italian action, based on Article 25 of the Vienna Convention, which governs so called ‘mixed agreements’ involving both the EU and its Member States, will set a precedent for the negotiation of all future EU agreements. The agreement had initially been concluded as purely a European Community-South Africa Agreement, before EU Member States called for it to be changed to a mixed agreement, i.e. an EU/Member State-South Africa Agreement. Had the Agreement remained a Community-South Africa Agreement, Italy’s reservation would not count. Greece has also, more recently and less formally, called for protection of its brand name “Ouzo” as regards the Wines and Spirits Agreement.
The Commission has stressed on the urgency of the need to resolve the issue on Italy and Greece’s reservations, and South Africa has also issued instructions for the agreement to be implemented.
3. ACP-EU NEGOTIATIONS
Mr Philip Lowe, the Director-General of the European Commission’s Development Directorate, has expressed his optimism that the forthcoming limited ACP-EU Negotiations Ministerial Meeting on 2-3 February will resolve all the issues that still divide the ACP and the EU. Mr Lowe said the remaining outstanding issues were: a) The clauses on readmission of illegal immigrants. (The ACP is refusing to readmit illegal immigrants if these immigrants do not have documentation to prove their nationality) b) Improved access for ACP products to the EU market during the transitional period before the implementation of free trade based Economic Partnership Agreements. (Eurostep have sent a letter to Commission President, Mr Prodi, calling on the EU to improve access to EU markets for all ACP countries and LDCs) c) The request for a derogation from the WTO to maintain current trade preferences for the ACP during the 8 year transition period towards free trade. Officially the deadline for requesting such a derogation has passed, however both the EU and the ACP are still confident that they will be able to obtain the derogation from the WTO once it is requested. According to the EU, the derogation cannot be requested before the EU and the ACP have a definitive accord on all aspects of their future agreement.
Regarding the amount of funding to be provided for the next instalment of the future ACP-EU agreement, Mr Lowe said the ACP’s disappointment at the € 13.5 billion provided by the EU in the European Development Fund, was due to insufficient explanation provided by the EU on the implications of this offer. To remedy what he called “this comprehension deficit” the Commission plans to provide more explanation on its offer before the ACP Committee of Ambassadors next week.
According to an EU official, if everything goes well, at the forthcoming Ministerial Meeting, the new Agreement will be signed in May 2000.
4. ACTION AID SEMINAR ON EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Eurostep member - ActionAid held a seminar on Education to Development at the European Parliament on 13 June. A report titled “Improving European Commission Development Cooperation. The Case of Education” was presented to an audience, which included a number of representatives from the Brussels-based ACP embassies. Professor Kenneth King, one of the co-authors, introduced the report, which includes a 10 point recommendation. Speakers included Mr. J. Cravinho from the Portuguese Government and Mr. R. Mettle-Nunoo from the Ghanaian Government. For more information you can contact Ms L. Hilditch at: [email protected]
5. PUBLICATIONS
The Center for Development Research (ZEF) based in Bonn has put out a report, in the form of a book, on the Conference – “The Future of EU-ACP Relations” – it co-organised with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the European Centre for Development Policy Management in 1998. The book deals with many aspects of ACP-EU relations including an analyses of the negotiating mandates that the ACP and the EU adopted for their ongoing negotiations, poverty reduction under the Lomé Convention and the ACP and the EU’s efforts to improve democracy and the efficiency of the state. The publication is edited by Dr Susanna Wolf, a research fellow of ZEF. For copies you can contact the publishers Peter Lang GMBH at: Tel: +49 69 78 07 05 0; Fax: +49 69 78 07 05 50; E-mail: [email protected]
6. IN BRIEF
The ACP-EU Joint Assembly Working Group on the Future of ACP-EU Relations will hold its final meeting on 1 February 2000 at 15:00-18:00 at the European Parliament in Brussels. The meeting will involve discussions with the ACP and EU negotiating spokesmen. The Group’s Final Report, being prepared by MEP Ms Glenys Kinnock, will be delivered before the next ACP-EU Joint Assembly in March.
Human Rights
Watch have called on the EU to back the resolution on China that
the US will be sponsoring at the forthcoming UN Commission on
Human Rights in March. According to the US, China’s record
on human rights is deteriorating. While China has been
negotiating WTO agreements, it has simultaneously cracked down on
dissidents, unofficial religious groups and labour rights
activists. Since 1995 China has successful put pressure on EU
Member States to stop the EU tabling resolutions against China in
Geneva.