1.      EU ADOPTS MANDATE FOR TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ACP BUT DOCUMENT REMAINS CONFIDENTIAL - REACTIONS

EU Foreign Ministers this week adopted the European Commission proposal for an EU mandate for trade negotiations with the ACP at the General Affairs Council. Negotiations on new ACP-EU trading arrangements are supposed to start this September and close by the end of 2007. This is set to end the non-reciprocal preferential trade for ACP countries. The EU mandate confirms its proposals to set up free trade based regional trade arrangements with the EU.

Despite the adoption of the mandate, according to Commission officials the document still remains confidential and will not officially be made public! Commission officials argue that as the document is intended for negotiations with the ACP, the ACP should not be officially allowed to view the strategies of their ‘opponents’ in the negotiations. According to ‘insiders’ who have seen the document there are no major changes from the Commission’s original draft. Minor changes include the inclusion of a food security clause; a reference to possible changes in the rules of origins of ACP exports to improve ACP market access to the Community; and the possibility of a EU Council decision on the fiscal implications (loss of customs duties) due to market opening in ACP countries. The EU also seems to soften its stance on when negotiations between sub-regions of the ACP and the EU should start, by stating that these negotiations ‘should’ start in 2003 as opposed to ‘will’ start in 2003 as previously stated.

Marc Maes, a representative from Eurostep’s member organisation – 11.11.11 – in response to the mandate stated to the PAF,

“It is regrettable that the EU member states have not managed to make important changes to the Commission’s approach. Contrary to the Commission’s press release on the issue, this is not so much due to great consensus on the mandate, but rather to the fact that consensus among member states was required to change the Commission’s proposals and this consensus was not there.”

Apparently Denmark and Sweden disagreed with the mandate by calling for complete market access to the EU to be granted to all ACP countries before the negotiations start.

Following the adoption of the mandate, the European Parliament’s Development Committee.  organised a hearing in preparation for the report on the ACP-EU Negotiations to be drafted by MEP Yasmine Boudjenah (French, Communist). The hearing heard presentations from NGOs: Third World Network and SOLAGRAL, and representatives from the European Commission and ACP Secretariat.

Tetteh Hormeku, the representative from Third World Network called on the European Parliament to ensure that the mandate is interpreted in a flexible manner. He argued that the EU should not adopt a ‘blanket’ free trade approach for all ACP countries and products. Rather an assessment on a case-by-case basis needs to be made on what strategies are best appropriate regarding specific countries and products in view of poverty eradication in the ACP. Mr Hormeku argued that the European Commission by pushing for free trade, was interpreting WTO compatibility, the one condition that the ACP-EU trade arrangements have to meet, too narrowly. He pointed out that WTO in many circumstances does allow for non-free trade arrangements between developed and developing countries.

Bénédicte Hermelin of SOLAGRAL called for a discussion on the detrimental effects that the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has on ACP countries to be included in the negotiations.

The ACP Secretariat representative stated that the ACP would like the forthcoming negotiations to be divided into two phases. The first phase lasting for about two years would discuss the principles and objectives of the trade arrangements for all ACP countries. This phase would allow ACP countries to define the sub-regions that will engage in negotiations with the EU. Phase two would then involve negotiations between the ACP sub-regions and the EU on the specific trade arrangements. He said the ACP wants the new trade arrangements to be a tool for development. They should provide for Special and Differentiated Treatment, beyond free trade for ACP countries. Most importantly the new trade arrangements should be compatible with overall goals of the Cotonou Agreement, i.e. poverty eradication.

The Commission representative, while acknowledging that the ACP has not been able to define sub-regions that could begin negotiating with the EU, claimed that such negotiations with sub-regions could already start at the beginning of 2003, even while the sub-regions themselves are still being defined.  In the Commission’s view the first phase of negotiations on principles should last only three months. He argued that starting the second phase after a two year first phase would not give enough time to complete the negotiations in 2008. According to the Commission representative, the EU’s proposals on free trade were not put forward to meet compatibility with WTO rules, but rather because this approach will best foster development in the ACP. He argued that the issue of compatibility is not important for the EU. This was later challenged by many participants who pointed out that throughout the negotiations for the Cotonou Agreement the EU had justified its push for free trade with the argument that this is what is required for WTO compatibility. Furthermore the EU mandate asks for ACP-EU trade arrangements to WTO compatible. The Commission representative’s claim that its trade proposals are being integrated into EU development programmes for the ACP was also challenged. According to an ACP Secretariat official the percentage of aid in support of trade programmed to ACP countries is only 0.1%.

MEP Boudjenah’s report on the ACP-EU Negotiations is due out before negotiations in September.

 

2.      27^th ACP-EU JOINT COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 28 JUNE- INFORMAL MEETING BETWEEN COUNCIL AND CIVIL SOCIETY

The 27^th ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers will meet in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic on 28 June. In an unprecedented move the Council will meet with civil society and business representatives in an informal meeting before the Council starts. The Cotonou Agreement specifically provides for such meetings between the Joint Council and civil society (Article 15 paragraph 3), but this is the first time it is being put into practise. Guggi Laryea will represent Eurostep at the meeting. The formal Council meeting will also deal issues regarding civil society. This will involve the adoption of papers on Eligibility Criteria For Non-State Actors Access to Funding Under the EDF, and Conclusions on the Participation of Non-State Actors in the Development Process. An endorsement of the ACP Civil Society Action Plan put forward last July is also foreseen.

Eurostep have produced a statement on the occasion of the Council with specific recommendations on how to improve civil society participation in ACP-EU cooperation. These include:

Þ     The further development of mechanisms for dialogue between ACP and EU civil servants and ACP and EU civil society representatives;

Þ     The institutionalisation of informal meetings between the Joint Council and civil society as stated in the Cotonou Agreement;

Þ     The development of consultation mechanisms for civil society actors to dialogue with ACP and EU civil society actors on the forthcoming ACP-EC trade negotiations;

Þ     An increase in the length of time civil society is consulted during programming process and review of programmes;

Þ     Establishment of mechanisms such as joint government-civil society committees, for joint work on the programming process.

For more information you can contact the Eurostep secretariat.

Other issues on the Joint Council meeting agenda include ACP-EU trade arrangements, political dialogue, ratification of the Cotonou Agreement, enlargement of the EU and the situation in Zimbabwe.

 

3. EUROSTEP DG TRADE MEETING ON ACP-EU NEFGOTIATIONS

The European Commission’s DG Trade and Eurostep, in collaboration with other NGO networks in the Cotonou Monitoring Group and WWF, are organising a meeting the ACP-EU Trade negotiations on 4 July, 9h30-12h45 at Centre Albert Borschette, Rue Froissart 36, Brussels. Issues on the agenda include: EU Sustainable Impact Assessments of new trade arrangements, and dialogue mechanisms for civil society participation. The meeting is organised within the framework of DG Trade’s system of dialogue meetings with civil society and business representatives on trade and WTO issues. For further information and how to register for the meeting please contact: [email protected]