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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.
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