The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

Brussels, 8 December 2005

The ACP Council of Ministers met in Brussels from 5 to 8 December 2005 under the chairmanship of Hon. Roger Marie RAFANOMEZANTSOA, Minister of Industry, Trade and Private Sector Development of Madagascar, President-in-Office of the Council. The Ministers decided on the venue for the next Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government and adopted a Declaration on Cotton, as well as decisions and resolutions on commodities (bananas and sugar), the REACH proposal, the food situation in Malawi and Southern Africa, and textiles.

Issues discussed by the Council of Ministers included the following:

Financing operating costs of the ACP Secretariat. The Council of Ministers examined and adopted a new scale of contributions for the Member States effective 1 January 2006, as well as the ACP Secretariat budget for financial year 2006.

WTO. Council endorsed the ACP Declaration and the recommendations submitted by the ACP Ministers of Trade for the 6^th WTO Ministerial Conference.

ACP Summit. In the framework of implementing the decision taken by the ACP Heads of State and Government at their 4^th Summit held in Maputo, Mozambique in June 2004, to hold the 5^th Summit in Sudan in 2006, Council decided that it would hold the 84^th session of the Council of Ministers, as well as a joint meeting of the Council of Ministers and the ACP Foreign Affairs Ministers before the Summit. The dates for the 5^th Summit will be set following consultation with the Government of Sudan.

Textiles. Deeply concerned by the dismantling of the Multifibre Agreement at the end of 2004, which led to the closure of several textile and garment factories in ACP States, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision on textiles and clothing in which it appealed for the implementation of the commitments made by international donors to provide support to the ACP cotton sector. The Ministers called upon the European Union and Commission to set aside a specific allocation in the 10^th EDF to finance the textile and clothing Facility for ACP countries.

Cotton. Gravely concerned by the maintenance of domestic support and export subsidies granted to farmers in developed countries, the Ministers stressed the urgency of finding a solution to the cotton dossier at the WTO in order to give a positive signal of the real commitment of partners, so as to ensure that the current negotiating round is truly a development round, and contribute to negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda. The Ministers emphasized the fact that solutions sought under the African Cotton Initiative led by Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad, should not only benefit the LDCs but include support for all ACP cotton-producing countries.

Bananas. The Ministers reiterated their appeal to the European Union to designate bananas as a sensitive product in the current WTO negotiations in view of the liberalisation of trade in agricultural products. They expressed support for all the initiatives taken by the European Communities within the WTO to have the current waiver extended until 31 December 2007. The Council also asked the European Union to ensure that all efforts towards an agreement with MFN countries include real consultation with the countries, and that in the event of an arbitration process relating to the banana regime, the EU would support the right of the ACP countries to participate therein.   

Sugar. The Ministers called on the European Union to ensure that ACP sugar-supplying countries are not saddled with a disproportionate share of the cost of the EC sugar regime reform, and that the reform is implemented in full respect of the EU’s international obligations as defined in the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol, particularly guarantees regarding market access, intervention, indefinite duration and negotiated prices, as well as the possibility of exporting all types of sugar. They appealed to the European Commission to designate sugar as a sensitive product for the purposes of the negotiations on agricultural products under the Doha Work Programme and at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong. Council also asked the EU to ensure that the modalities for implementing the new regime, particularly regarding the warning mechanism for the control of the volume of imports from LDCs, are specified in such a way as not to hamper legitimate LDC exports to the EU. 

REACH. The Council of Ministers reaffirmed the need to ensure that the objectives defined in the REACH proposal (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) are in accordance with the fundamental objectives of the Cotonou Agreement. The Ministers felt that dialogue between the EU and the ACP Group was essential in order to agree on the modalities of the impact and feasibility studies on the potential effects of REACH on ACP countries. They also asked the EC to set up a “Chemical Substances Initiative” programme modelled on the “Pesticide Initiative” programme to help ACP exporters meet the requirements of the EU’s regulatory framework on chemicals. The Ministers also asked the EU to exclude metals, minerals and concentrates from the scope of application of REACH.

Food Security. Informed that Malawi and other Southern African countries such as Mozambique and Lesotho are currently facing a severe food crisis due to inadequate rainfall, the Council of Ministers urged the development partners, particularly the EU, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, CTA and CDE, to provide aid to these countries in the form of food and medicaments. The Ministers also asked the countries affected to set up early-warning mechanisms relating to food security and drought forecasts in accordance with priorities defined in the framework of the ACP-EU Facility for Natural Disasters.

Burundi. The Council of Ministers welcomed H.E. Mr. Pierre NKURUNZIZA, President of the Republic of Burundi, who had expressed a desire to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the Ministerial session to address Council. Elected President of Burundi on 18 August 2005, H.E. Mr. Nkurunziza informed Council of the positive developments in his country which has just emerged from a long crisis. He informed the Ministers of progress achieved, particularly in regard to democracy, gender equality and education. The President also thanked the ACP Group for its support during difficult times and reiterated his hope that Burundi could continue to count on the support of the ACP States.   

Intra-ACP dialogue. Council heard presentations from the delegations of Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Liberia, Mauritania, Sudan and Togo on the positive developments in their respective countries.

Presidency of the Council of Ministers. In accordance with the rotation principle in effect, the Presidency will now pass to the Caribbean region, which has designated the Dominican Republic to occupy the position as of 1 February 2006.