Press Release - Port Moresby, 31 May 200683 rd Council of Ministers – Call for greater ACP solidarity(29-31 May 2006, Port Moresby – Papua New Guinea)Meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 29 to 31 May 2006, under the chairmanship of ACP Council President, Dr. Onofre Rojas of the Dominican Republic, Secretary of State and National Authorising Officer for the European Development Fund (EDF), the ACP Council of Ministers reaffirmed the need to strengthen solidarity among Member States both within the intra-ACP cooperation and with the European Union. At the end of their deliberations, the Council adopted declarations on the situation in Timor Leste and the earthquake in Indonesia, as well as decisions and resolutions regarding in particular the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) and commodities (sugar and bananas). The Council also endorsed declarations from the 1 st meeting of ACP Ministers responsible for Asylum, Migration and Mobility. The issues discussed by the Council of Ministers included the following: Economic Partnership Agreements The Ministers expressed concern at the slow pace of the negotiations and the consequent lack of progress. They agreed that the regions should not be restricted to negotiating so-called trade-related issues such as competition, procurement contracts and investment under the EPAs. The Council of Ministers asked the European Union to make a commitment regarding the granting of additional resources required after the 10 th EDF to finance the adjustment costs generated by the EPAs. It felt the legal text for each EPA should reflect that commitment. Council also decided to request the creation of an additional financing structure for the EPAs, at national and regional level, so as to settle the issue of adjustment costs and to support the negotiation and implementation of the EPAs over time. Finally, acknowledging the need for political impetus in the negotiation process, Council took the decision to invite six Heads of Government, representing the six ACP regions, to meet with the various EU authorities (Council, Commission, Parliament, Heads of Government), in order to persuade them to give the development aspect of the EPAs all the attention required, both during the negotiations and in the final agreement. LDC Sugar The ACP Ministers called on the European Union to consider the implementatin of all possible ways and means of utilising the resources of the European Development Fund (EDF) and the EU Budget, including non-committed and decommitted funds that might result from the end-of-term review of the 9 th EDF, to provide national and sectoral support to the LDC sugar industry. They therefore called for the complete suspension and abolition of all additional duties, leaving only the common customs tariff which would be gradually reduced before being completely abolished as of 1 July 2009. The ACP Ministers also stressed that the European Commission should fully implement the regulations it has adopted to increase the quota by 15% per annum as specified therein, rather than propose new figures for future annual quotas. Bananas Regarding bananas, the ACP Minister deplored the refusal of the MFN banana-exporting countries to include the ACP countries in the discussions facilitated by the Norwegian government. They invited the ACP countries and the European Union to hold consultations with a view to ensuring effective participation by the ACP in the event of any legal action that might be initiated by the MFN countries at the WTO. The Ministers also appealed to the European Commission to take all the necessary steps to ensure the speedy adoption of the outstanding texts, as well as those intended to guarantee the ACP countries sufficient time to commit the resources once they have been made available. Council called on the ACP countries and the EU to assess the consequences of including bananas in the Economic Partnership Agreements currently under discussion. It also called on the two parties to open discussions in view of implementing another regime that would guarantee the viability of ACP banana-exporting enterprises. Sugar The ACP Council of Ministers expressed concern over the incompatibility between the European Community’s new sugar regime and the guarantees and provisions of the Sugar Protocol. It called on the European Union and the Commission to immediately honour its commitments to provide sufficient aid to the countries signatory to the Sugar Protocol by allocating at least 500 million Euro per annum for the period 2007-2013 under the EU’s financial estimate for that period, so as to enable the ACP countries concerned to successfully implement their pluriannual adjustment strategies and plans. It called for the immediate re-allocation of the unutilised funds in the 40-million Euro envelop for 2006 to the Sugar Protocol countries which have submitted pluriannual adjustment strategies. The Ministers requested that the funds proposed by the EU to support the needs of the countries signatory to the Protocol from the non-allocated resources, be supplemented and released following the end-of-term review of the 9 th EDF. With regard to the envelope that the EU has proposed to the EIB as the Investment Facility of the 10 th EDF, Council called on the EU and the ACP Group to increase the 40 million Euro in interest subsidies to 500 million Euro. Timor Leste In its statement, Council re-affirmed its solidarity and support for the elected President, the Government and people of Timor Leste, and called on the authorities to find solutions to the political problems. The Ministers urged the ACP Group to support and assist Timor Leste, mainly in the framework of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. They undertook to monitor the situation closely and, if necessary, take other measures within the framework of the intra-ACP political dialogue. Future of the ACP Group The Ministers took note of the preliminary results of the seminar on the Future of the ACP Group that was organised for ACP Ambassadors last 18 April, and asked all the regions to engage in consultations and make recommendations regarding their position on this issue. Presidency of the Council of Ministers In accordance with the principle of rotation in effect, the Council presidency now falls to Central Africa. That region has designated the Democratic Republic of Congo to assume that post as from 1 August 2006. 5 th ACP Summit The Ministers were apprised of the preparations underway for the 5 th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government which is scheduled from 4 to 10 December 2006 in Khartoum ( Sudan). They were pleased with the manner in which the preparations were progressing. Earthquake in Indonesia On behalf of the ACP Group, the Ministers adopted a statement of condolence and solidarity with the government and people of Indonesia, following the earthquake that recently rocked that country. The statement was issued, in the margins of the Council of Ministers, in the presence of Indonesia’s Representative to Papua New Guinea, to whom a copy was given for communication to the Indonesian capital. Council undertook to promote, on the international scene, the creation of effective rapid-response mechanisms to ensure that appropriate measures are taken, in addition to emergency humanitarian aid, to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and to speed up the rebuilding of social infrastructures. Date and venue of the next session of the Council of Ministers The 84 th session of the ACP Council of Ministers will be held in Khartoum ( Sudan) in December 2006. The meeting will precede the 5 th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) A high-level seminar on the MDGs was organised for the Ministers in the margins of the Council session. The Council of the United Nations General Secretariat for the MDG7, Mr. Don Melnick, of Columbia University, made a presentation on that particular Goal: “Ensuring a sustainable environment”. The Council session was preceded on 28 and 29 May 2006 by the following meetings: Ministerial Committees and consultations on Bananas, Sugar (Consultative Sugar Group and LDC Sugar Group), Cotton, and the Development Finance Committee.
|
Institutions
