1. ACP AIMS TO BE A GLOBAL PLAYER
The new ACP Secretary-General Mr Jean-Robert Goulongana has stated that, following the conclusion of negotiations with the EU for a new framework agreement, a revision of the ACP Group’s founding agreement - the Georgetown Agreement is now the ACP’s main priority.
This revision will be coupled with the ACP’s aim to boost its political profile beyond that of its partnership with the EU. Mr Goulongana told the European press that, “The plan is to reinforce the ACP Group’s voice on the global stage.… The EU will remain our privileged partner, but it is important to have a dialogue with other political and economic powers.” The ACP Group hopes to open an office in Geneva followed by another in New York. The aim is to reinforce ACP-EU co-ordination ahead of WTO and UN meetings. The ACP also plans to make a contribution to the first ever EU-Africa Summit being held in Cairo on 3-4 April (See PAF 171).
The ACP Secretariat’s role is also under review, with ACP governments considering plans to upgrade the Secretariat’s tasks from administration of the Group’s activities to more important executive functions. This would allow the Secretary-General to speak on behalf of the ACP Group at international meetings. For more information on the ACP and the Georgetown Agreement see http://www.oneworld.org/acpsec/index.html
2. EU TO RESIST RAPID PROGESS WTO NEGOTIATIONS IN AGRICULTURE
The European Commission is expected to resist attempts by large agricultural producing countries to speed up progress on the WTO agricultural trade negotiations, which begin in Geneva next week. According the European press sources, the Commission will hold out against calls from some countries (Australia, New Zealand and other major farm-produce exporters of the so called Cairns Group) for WTO members to submit detailed positions on liberalisation before the end of the year.
The Cairns Group has been pushing other WTO members to phase out the use of export subsidies, which allow rich countries to dump surplus produce unto world markets. The EU aims to retain the right to make such payments. It is believed that the failure of WTO members to launch a new round of negotiations in Seattle last year will make it harder to secure a deal on agriculture because the EU will need to win concessions on key issues such as competition and investment, in order to offset the sacrifices that will be demanded of it to reduce the high protection it grants to its agricultural sector.
A spokesman for EU Agriculture Commissioner, Franz Fischler, has dismissed suggestions that the EU want to hold up discussions on agriculture, insisting that the EU and the US have agreed to press ahead together in the discussions on agriculture. At next week’s meeting, the negotiators will focus on procedural issues relating to the negotiations.
3. EUROPEAN COMMISSION CLAIM BREAKTHROUGH IN DISCUSSIONS WITH US ON BANANA TRADE REGIME
European Commission officials claim they have moved closer to reaching a deal on the EU’s banana dispute with the US, after Washington responded positively to Commission proposals. According to Commission officials the US had indicated that it could accept a system of allocating licences, i.e. a compromise between the opposing positions of the two biggest US banana-exporting companies. Chiquita has called for licences to be based on pre-1993 levels, while Dole would prefer an open auction system. Now the US has reacted positively to base the distribution of licences on operators’ trading records between 1994 and 1996.
US officials are however playing down the reports of a breakthrough, stating that many other key details still have to be settled. Some EU diplomats suggest that Spain could soften its position now that the country’s general elections are over. Prime Minister José Maria Aznar had adopted a hard line during his election campaign to win the support of the Canary Islands – a significant banana producer. Still it is widely believed that a final deal on bananas will not be struck before France takes over the Presidency of the EU on July 1 this year.
Meanwhile a group of Caribbean banana producing countries have expressed their fear that a prolonged lull in negotiations between the EU and the United States over the EU's banana import regime could work against them. The joint mission of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in Brussels said in its weekly newsletter that the EU-US negotiations ''seem to have come to a halt ... The danger though is that if the matter drags on, pressure will increase for a simple tariff solution." In spelling out the EU's development policy priorities, Poul Nielson, EU Commission for Development, told the European Parliament last month that whilst the banana protocol could not be maintained, ''we agree to provide appropriate preferential access for ACP bananas under the EU's future banana regime.'' Furthermore, he said that the EU was ready to support measures to improve the competitiveness of the producers and the conditions for production and marketing of bananas.
4. PUBLICATIONS
Two publications focussing on gender and trade – “Trade Myths and Gender Reality: Trade Liberalisation and Women’s Lives” and “Gender, Trade and the WTO: A Ghana Case Study” are available from the ICDA (International Coalition for Development Action) Secretariat in Brussels. For more information please contact ICDA at [email protected]: Fax: 32 2 230 5237; Tel: 32 2 230 04 30.
The Center for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn has published a discussion paper titled “Allocation of EU Aid Towards ACP Countries: From Lomé to Suva” The paper will be available on the ZEF website shortly at www.ZEF.de For more information you can also contact Dr Susanne Wolf at [email protected]
5. PRODI RESPONDS TO EP REQUEST FOR FULL MARKET ACCESS FOR ALL LDCs
The European Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, has written letter in response to the European Parliament’s letter, last December, calling on the EU to maintain or improve EU market access for ACP countries, as well as fully open the EU market for all products from LDCs as a millennium goodwill gesture. Mr Prodi states that the ACP and the EU have agreed to maintain the current levels of access to EU markets during the preparatory period before future ACP-EU trade arrangements. While the Commission is against improving market access for the ACP, there is an agreement to examine the effects of wider liberalisation (free market access for essentially all products from LDCs) on ACP-EU relations and to take necessary measures to maintain the competitive position of the ACP. Regarding the initiative towards LDCs, Mr Prodi said the Commission was in the process of preparing a proposal to be put to the Council, “substantially enlarging the market for LDC products”.
MEP Max van den Berg (NL) drafted the EP campaign letter. It was co signed by a several influential MEPs such as Ms. Glenys Kinnock (UK), Mr. Carlos Westendorp (Spain), Mr. Bob van den Bos (NL) and Mr. Imbeni (Italy). Eurostep also sent a letter of support of this initiative to Mr Prodi and EU Development Ministers.
6. IN BRIEF
The EC has finally requested a waiver from the WTO to maintain current non-reciprocal preferential trade arrangements with the ACP (see http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/bilateral/acp/wto_waiver.htm)
The
EU Trade Ministers meeting on 17-18 March will review EU Trade
Commissioner, Pascal Lamy’s efforts to re-launch the WTO
Negotiations (see http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/whats_new/index_en.htm)