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1. PREPARATORY MEETINGS OF THE “ACP-EU Conference on the participation of Civil Society in the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement”
The preparatory meetings for the “ACP-EU Conference on the participation of Civil Society in the implementation of the Cotonou Agreement” organized by the Belgian Presidency of the EU and the ACP Secretariat on the 6th and 7th of July, took place this week from the 2nd to the 5th.
The first two days were dedicated to a meeting hosted by the ACP Civil Society Forum for the ACP Civil Society organisations only. It discussed several issues ranging from the civil society priority sectors of action in the Cotonou Agreement to the operationalisation of the Forum of the ACP Civil Society. A plan of action was adopted by the meeting to be discussed during the main one.
In the opening session of this meeting Guggi Laryea from Eurostep clearly expressed the challenge that had to be met by these meetings:
“We all recognise that this series of meetings is the result of the recognition within the Cotonou Agreement that non state actors are accepted partners within the co-operation framework between the EU and the ACP countries. […]It is our firm belief that the strength of a society (and of its government to represent it) is directly related to the vibrancy and diversity of its civil society; to the autonomy and independence of that civil society and to its ability to engage in constructive dialogue with government. This should not be seen in competition with the formal mechanisms of accountability that national parliaments should provide, but as a complementary process which promotes open and transparent debate on which proper accountability depends, and which is also essential for genuine participation”.
The second preparatory meeting hosted by the ACP Secretariat aimed to provide the Secretariat with an opportunity to develop a working relationship between ACP civil society and the Secretariat and ACP governments. It examined issues such as how to build a structured relationship within ACP civil society organisations and between ACP civil society, governments and the ACP Secretariat.
The ACP-EU Conference will take into account the results of the preparatory seminars and then work within theme-specific groups to draft an ACP Civil Society participation action plan .
2. MR. PATTEN OUTLINES AMBITIOUS AGENDA OF G8 SUMMIT
The European Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten, presented to the plenary of the European Parliament the ambitious agenda of the G8 Summit that will be held in Genoa from 20 to 22 July.
Mr. Patten indicated that the European Commission is in agreement on the priorities set for the Summit, namely global development, the fight against poverty, the protection of the environment, food safety and highlighted certain issues which are particularly important for the European Union:
· for the fight against poverty and transmissible diseases, he expressed the necessity to bring the political and financial support to the World Health Fund created by the United Nations Secretary General. Mr. Patten stressed also the point that the G8 still has a leading role to play in term of debt reduction for third countries;
· in the field of environment protection and sustainable development the Commissioner informed the plenary that the European Commission will concentrate the debates on climatic change and on the adoption of a G8 declaration calling for the various parties to rapidly ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
During the following debate Giorgio Napolitano questioned the lack of representation for poor countries and even EU Member States at the G8 which, in his opinion, explains the lack of legitimacy experienced by these events. MEP Margrietus van den Berg expressed his hope to see the “Everything But the Arms” proposal going further so reinforcing the fight against poverty.
3. ADDITIONAL REFORMS OF THE European COMMISSION AID AND TRADE STRUCTURES
The European Commission has announced reforms of its aid and trade functions that it says are designed to increase efficiency. The executive branch of the European Union will devolve greater responsibility for the functions of its External Service to field offices. The announcement followed reports that EU spending on aid programmes had grown three-fold during the 1990s, reaching some 11 billion dollars in 2000. The Commission admitted it is not equipped to manage this volume of aid and the speed of delivery and quality of its projects have been "suffering badly”.
In November 2000, Chris Patten, the Commissioner for External Relations, and Poul Nielson, the Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, called for urgent reforms. The following month, the Commission set up its Europe Aid Cooperation Office to improve internal management of its aid budget. Decentralising management of external assistance is another important component of these reforms which will be completed within 2003.
The Commission intends to open delegations to Cambodia and Laos, Nepal, Paraguay (with a non-resident delegation chief in Uruguay). Current plans call for offices to be closed in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Comoros, the Dutch Antilles, São Tomé and Príncipe, Tonga and Equatorial Guinea.
4. IN BRIEF
Following the USA-EU deal signed in April to end the long running banana dispute, Washington has lifted sanctions worth EURO 225 million on imports from the EU. The decision means that increased (100% ad valorem) duties have now gone down to the level of ordinary customs duties on imports of EU products. Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler welcomed suspension of US sanctions saying: “this solution fully preserves the interests of EU producers and consumers as well as those of our ACP and Latin American suppliers".
ActionAid has created a new post to manage its EU funding relationships. The post holder will be responsible for leading, in collaboration with staff in ActionAid's country programmes, the development of an EC official funding strategy that is coherent with ActionAid's policy and programme objectives.
For an application form and full role profile, please either email: [email protected] or contact Louise Hilditch, EU Policy Adviser, 70-72 rue du Commerce, B-1040 Brussels, Tel +32 2 502 55 01, Fax +32 2 502 62 03, E-mail: [email protected]. Closing date 27 July 2001
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