1. THE E.U. IS
LOOKING FOR WAYS TO SIMPLIFY RULES FOR IMPORTS FROM DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
The European Commission proposed, during the
last plenary of the European Parliament on the 12th of
June, a regulation that would revise the Generalised Scheme of
Tariff Preferences (GSP), set up in 1971, to give developing
countries easier access to European Union markets. E.U. member
states and the European Parliament must approve the proposal,
which would cover the GSP's final two years, 2002 to 2004.
The proposal seeks to render the GSP scheme
simpler and beneficial for developing countries, while
encouraging them to respect social and environmental standards
established by the international community.
The main changes planned for the next two years are:
·
The simplification of the rule and harmonization of procedures
of the different existing schemes which actually
are: a general scheme for the countries of Asia and Latin
America, the only ones not benefiting from bilateral preferential
schemes like those reserved for the ACP and Mediterranean
countries; the LDCs scheme, already improved through the EBA
proposal (Everything but the Arms) fully integrate in the new
regulation; the special drugs scheme for the countries of the
Andean Pact and Central America which is extended as it stands
for a three-year period. In all cases, tax-free access is
maintained for non-sensitive products, whereas the other products
will be grouped into a single sensitive category, instead of the
previous three (very sensitive, sensitive and semi sensitive),
which will benefit from a reduction of 3.5 per cent from the
standard tariff rate.
·
A better targeting to the benefit of countries and sectors
which need most the preferential treatment and a greater
flexibility on admissibility. Previously, the eligibility of
both countries and sectors was decided only at the entry of
a new regulation; under the new proposal this would be done once
a year. However the eligibility of both countries and sectors
will only be decided where countries will meet the criterias
during three consecutive years.
·
The doubling of existing preferences for those countries
implementing international environment and social standards.
In social sphere the beneficiaries will be required to apply all
International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions related to
core labour standards. On the other hand, the beneficiary
countries committing serious and systematic violations of those
international standards would run the risk of loosing their GSP
status. The special drugs GSP scheme, established in 1996 to help
Andean and Central American countries to replace drug-crop
cultivation with alternative products, will be maintained until
the end of 2004.
2. EU-US
GOTHENBURG SUMMIT RESULTS
On the 14th of June the first European
Union summit with the Bush Administration was held in Gothenburg.
It ended with the adoption of a four page joint declaration which
reaffirms the historical partnership between the European Union
and the United States.
The world's largest trading blocs declared
themselves united in seeking to launching a new round of
multilateral trade negotiations at the World Trade Organisation
(WTO) which must equally address the needs and priorities of
developing countries, respond to the views of civil society and
promote sustainable development.
Pledging a united front to combat poverty, AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis in poor countries they also stated
their commitment to support the establishment of a global fund
to fight these diseases and to work with the
pharmaceutical industry and with affected countries to facilitate
the broadest possible provision of drugs in an affordable and
medically effective manner.
The two sides also pledged to work closely
together on asylum and migration issues, based on a
commitment to human rights, and for co-ordinated action
against international crime, including the trafficking in
human beings. The situations in the Middle East, the Balkans and
other global hot spots were also discussed.
As
expected, no agreement was reached on climate change. Both
sides reaffirmed their previous statements regarding the Kyoto
Protocol, with President Bush sticking to his belief that the
1997 Kyoto Protocol on reducing the greenhouse gases, thought to
cause climate change, is a "flawed treaty" and
pledging to commit money to further study the issue. However,
they determined to work together in all relevant fora to address
climate change and they expressed their will to
participate constructively in the resumed COP6 [Sixth Session
of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change] in Bonn in July.
3. ICT NOT TO BE
CONSIDERED THE BACKBONE OF DEVELOPMENT
The European Union Commissioner responsible for
development and humanitarian aid, Poul Nielson, cautioned
against exaggerating the role of information and communication
technology (ICT) in alleviating poverty, during a meeting of
experts in Bonn this week.
The meeting was organised by Europe's Forum for
International Co-operation (EUFORIC) in conjunction with the
European Association of Development Institutes (EADI). Nielson
expressed his opinion that ICT is not to be considered in
isolation, but as part of an overall development strategy.
He said that the discussion on ICT and development
has a tendency to focus on the potential role of the Internet
whereas the EU definition is much broader and includes also
telephony. He pointed out that the telephone is also to be
considered IT (information technology), and that in many
developing countries it is the IT to which the vast majority has
not yet gained access. The EU Commissioner's argument is
underpinned by the fact that, while roughly 4 billion people live
more than two hours away from the next telephone, a small
proportion of high-income countries is using most of the telecom
services ranging from Internet to basic telephony.
The Forum concluded that ICT should be seen as a
tool to help meet existing development objectives, in particular
the international development goals, and not as a separate
sector. However, the EU Commissioner said he was open to use ICT
whenever and wherever there is a well-founded demand and within
the normal decision-making procedure.
The Commission approach, as Commissioner Nielson
emphasized, is inspired by the work that other institutions do in
community development co-operation and corresponds with the
conclusions from the Global Forum on Exploiting the Digital
Opportunities for Poverty Reduction organised in March 2001 by
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD), the World Bank and UN Development Programme (UNDP).