1.
ACP TRADE MINISTERS MEETING/ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTES – CUBA
BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE ACP
Further
to last week’s report (PAF 208) on the ACP Trade
Minister’s Meeting in Brussels (7-12 December), the PAF can
now bring you information on the conclusion of the meeting. A
Declaration adopted by the Trade Ministers at the close of the
meeting; inter alia:
Ø
Expresses concern that many issues that contributed to the
failure of the 3rd WTO Ministerial
Conference, including those related to implementation and
inherent balances within the international trading system, remain
unresolved;
Ø
Calls for the urgent fulfilment of various commitments in
favour of developing countries such as Special and Differentiated
Treatment and technical assistance;
Ø
Calls for immediate decisions favouring developing countries
to be taken on implementation issues;
Ø
Expresses deep concern that the application to the WTO for a
waiver for the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement, to allow the ACP to
continue receiving non-reciprocal trade preferences has not yet
been granted, and appeals to all parties including the EU to
intensify efforts to obtain a waiver from the WTO;
Ø
Welcomes and supports the initiative of the European
Commission to grant, from 2001, duty and quota free access to all
products, except arms from LDCs (EBA initiative)
Ø
Calls on the EU to address supply side constraints so that LDCs
can fully benefit from the market access EBA initiative;
Ø
Urges that the EBA initiative be considered with the provisions
of the Cotonou Agreement, which call for consultation with ACP in
its development;
Ø
Urges that the EBA initiative take into account the vulnerability
of small, landlocked and island ACP states;
Ø
Mandates the ACP Secretariat to undertake comprehensive studies
on the impact of EU enlargement on ACP-EU relations.
A copy of the
Declaration can be found at: http://www.acpsec.org/
The Trade Ministers also discussed a plan of action to prepare
ACP countries for the forthcoming negotiations on Economic
Partnership Agreements in 2002. However this document was not
finalised. The plan includes actions such as the organising of
regional trade workshops in 2001, the carrying out of impact
assessments of the future trade arrangements, and the drafting of
an ACP Negotiating Mandate.
An ACP Council of
Ministers followed the Trade Ministers’ meeting on 14-15
December. At the Council, Cuba was formally admitted as the 78th
member of the ACP. However according to an ACP Secretariat press
release, Cuba will be the first ACP country not to participate in
cooperation with the European Union, as the rest of the ACP does,
under the Cotonou Agreement. Cuba however remains a candidate
to participate in the Cotonou Agreement.
2.
EU TREATY OF NICE – TRADE MATTERS
European
Union Heads of States meeting in Nice for the EU Summit have
agreed to a new EU Treaty of Nice. On trade matters, a new
paragraph extends qualified majority voting among EU Member
States to agreements on trade in services and commercial aspects
of intellectual property. However, unanimity in voting is
still required if the agreement concerned incorporates questions
for which the adoption of internal decisions by the Community
requires unanimity, eg on taxation. For a draft text (subject to
legal/linguistic amendment by the Council Secretariat), go to: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/faqs/rev133_en.htm
3.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS UNDER THE SWEDISH PRESIDENCY – 1/0 –
6/01
| 12
January 2001 Brussels |
EU
Fisheries Council |
| 22-23
January 2001 Brussels |
EU
General Affairs CouncilPossible discussion of EBA
market access proposal
|
| 29-30
January 2001 Brussels |
EU
Agriculture Council |
| January/February,
Brussels* |
EU-South
Africa Co-operation Council |
| February
2001* South Africa |
European
Commission organise seminar on new WTO round |
| 5-7
February 2001, Norrköping, Sweden |
Workshop
on Climate Change |
| 26-27
February, Brussels |
EU
General Affairs Council |
| 1-3
March 2001, Norrköping, Sweden |
Children
in Armed Conflict and Displaced Children: Seminar on
international cooperation and migration policies from a
child’s rights perspective |
| March
2001* Gabon |
ACP-EU
Joint Parliamentary Assembly |
| 19-20
March 2001 Brussels |
EU
General Affairs Council
|
| 24
March, 2001 Stockholm |
Special
EU Council of Heads of States |
| 2
April, Simrishamn, Sweden |
Seminar
on Conflict Prevention in the EU |
| 9-10
April 2001 Brussels |
EU
General Affairs Council |
| 25-26
April, Nacka, Sweden |
Meeting
of senior ASEM officials |
| 5-6
May 2001 Brussels |
EU
Informal Foreign Affairs Meeting |
| 10
May 2001, Brussels* |
ACP-EU
Trade Ministerial Committee |
| 10-11
May 2001, Brussels |
ACP-EU
Ministerial Council |
| 10-20
May 2001 Brussels |
NGO
Forum to 3rd UN LDC Conference |
| 14-20
May 2001, Brussels |
3rd
UN LDC Conference |
| 14-15
May 2001, Brussels |
EU
General Affairs Council |
| 23-26
May, 2001 Brussels |
NGO
Youth Conference on Sustainable Development |
| 30
May 2001 Brussels |
EU
Development Council - Agenda might include: Human rights and democracy, NGO
Evaluation of food aid regulation, decentralised
co-operation, HIV & AIDS, Relief Rehabilitation and
Development, Gender, poverty and rural development |
| 11-12
June 2001 Brussels |
EU
General Affairs Council |
| 15-16
June 2001 Gothenburg |
EU
Council of Heads of State |
| 20-21
June 2001, Kramfors, Sweden |
Making
Globalisation Work for the Poor: Informal High level
meeting on the European Contribution |
| 25-26
June 2001 Brussels |
EU
General Affairs Council |
For more
information see: http://eu2001.se/eu2001/main/default.asp
* Dates or venues yet to be confirmed
4. IN BRIEF
At a donors’ conference for Burundi
in Paris this week, the European Commission announced the release
of €150 million to support the peace consolidation process
in the abovementioned country.
The EU-ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting approved a joint declaration which called
for, inter alia, a) the launch of a new WTO round as soon as
possible; b) resumption of talks between the Burmese military
government and the democratic opposition; c) backing for the
joint efforts of Indonesia and the international community
towards a rapid resolution of the refugee situation in East
Timor.
The WTO has
rejected an appeal by the EU challenging US sanctions enforced
against the EU over the EU’s banana trade regime with ACP
countries.