The informal EU Development Ministers meeting in Trieste gave the opportunity for the European Commission to assess the position of EU Member States and some EU accession countries on its communication on integrating the European Development Fund (EDF) into the budget by 2007. the EDF is the main budget for ACP-EU cooperation and is kept apart from the overall EU budget.

Supporters of EDF budgetisation are: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland and Hungary. Only the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland were against it. These three Member States contribution is currently less then it would become if the EDF were put under the European Community Budget – United Kingdom expects this contribution to rise from around 12% to more then 18%, Spain from 5.84% to 7.46% and Ireland will have to pay 1.19% as opposed to 0.62%. Germany wants more time for reflection.

2. 'EVEN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICAN DO NOT AGREE WITH EU ROADMAP FOR EPA NEGOTIATION’, PRESIDENT OF THE ACP STATES

In his address to the Joint ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Rome on 13 October 2003, the President of the ACP Council of Ministers, Lt. Gen. Mompati S. MERAFHE, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Botswana (See PAF 331), emphasized the important relationship between the global negotiations in the Doha WTO Development Agenda framework and ACP-EC negotiations for Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). In relation to this he contended that the competitiveness of the ACP on the global market is limited by capacity and infra-structural constraints. According to him, the EPA’s negotiations have been, and will continue to be, complex, difficult and challenging. “Even the two ACP regions which were in position to launch the second phase of the EPAs with the EU, namely Western and Central Africa, could not however agree with the European Commission on the structure and roadmap for the negotiations”, he added, reminding that “during the all-ACP-phase of the negotiations with the EC, agreement was reached on some matters, but there continues to be divergence on some pivotal issues”.

The President said the ACP Group was aware of the European Commission’s proposal to integrate the European Development Fund (EDF) into the EU budget. The Group, he added, is yet to reach a position on this matter, but “no decision should be made on budgetisation without the agreement of the ACP Group.” He insisted that the ACP needs to be fully “aware of the implications as they relate to the key issues of ownership, partnership, transparency, accountability and decision-making. Of concern to the ACP Group, he criticized, is the tendency of the European Commission to allocate large sums of EDF resources to global initiatives, when there is no lack of development priorities to which these resources could be allocated in all ACP States and regions.

ACP Ministerial consultations have identified concrete and practical interventions in key sectors for support. They identified sector-wide approach and budgetary support as two measures for addressing the problems of EDF resources for rural development and the environment. Sectoral approaches, coupled with other initiatives in trade, peace and security, enable the ACP Group to be in a position to submit concrete proposals based on needs originating from ACP States and regions, for EDF resources.

3. COMMISSION PROPOSES €250 MIO TO SUPPORT AFRICAN PEACE FACILITY BY CUTTING NATIONAL ALLOCATIONS OF FUNDS TO AFRICAN COUNTRIES

The European Commission has embraced a proposal to mobilise €250 million from the EDF for an African Peace Facility in order to support African-led peacekeeping operations within Africa. The proposal is a response to a call made by African leaders at the African Union summit in July 2003.

Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Poul Nielson said: “Fostering peace and security is essential if Africa is to break the vicious circle of poverty and war and failing socio-economic structures. With the Peace Facility we are proposing to add an important dimension to out co-operation with Africa. The decision clearly shows the importance we attach to delivering on the request made in Maputo in July.”

Commissioner for External Affairs, Chris Patten added that, “the European Union is making an increasing contribution to peacekeeping worldwide, including in Africa. The Peace Facility will provide a more stable mechanism for our contributions on the future, in the belief that peace and stability are necessary conditions for sustainable development to take place.”

The main objectives of the Peace Facility are supposed to be to promote African solutions to African crises by providing the African Union with the ‘financial muscle’ to back up its political resolve with concrete acts and to encourage African solidarity. All African states will be contributing to the Peace Facility also those not involved in conflict resolution.

The Peace Facility should contribute to the financing of African-led peacekeeping operations in Africa. Military expenditure such as arms, ammunitions or salaries of troops will not be eligible for funding. The proposal is supposed to add a new dimension to the EU’s development cooperation with Africa as it is proposed that development resources provide the financial basis for the Peace Facility. It is proposed to allocate a total amount of €250 million to the Peace Facility. This amount would be composed of €126.4 million from allocations earmarked to African countries under the 9^th EDF. However to raise this money the idea is that 1.5 % will be ‘shaved off’ each ACP’s country allocation of funds in addition to €123.6 million taken from unallocated funds from the 9^th EDF.

The present proposal would have to be adopted by the EU Council in view of a final decision to be taken by the EU-ACP Council of Ministers.

Sustainable Impact Assessment (SIA) of the ACP–EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) Consultation Workshop of the West African Civil Society	10 to 11 November, Dakar, Senegal
Civil society dialogue – The Future of the Doha Development Agenda: With Pascal Lamy, European Commissioner for Trade	11 November 17.00 – 18.30, Brussels, Belgium
Meeting between EU NGOs (CONCORD) and Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid	12 November 11.15 – 13.15, Brussels, Belgium
Civil society Dialogue – Doha Development Agenda: An overview with John Clarke, DG Trade	25 November 10.00 – 12.30, Brussels, Belgium
Sustainability Impact Assessment of the WTO negotiations with the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, UK	27 November 10.00 – 12.30, Brussels, Belgium