African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States  (ACP Group)						Groupe des Etats d'Afrique des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (Groupe ACP)
451 Avenue Georges Henri						Avenue Georges Henri, 451
1200 Brussels, Belgium						1200 Bruxelles, Belgique
Tel: 32 2 743 06 00						Fax: +32 2 735 55 73
email: info@acp.int						Website : http://www.acp.int
			SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 51ST MEETING OF THE  COUNCIL OF ACP MINISTERS  (Brussels, 28 TO 30 NOVEMBER 1990) Ref: ACP/25/021/90 KK/evo  Brussels, 1st May 1991 Retyped by :

The 51st ACP Council Session was held from 28 to 30 November 1990 in ACP House, Brussels, under the chairmanship of its President-in-office, Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele MALIELEGAOI, Minister of Finance of Western Samoa.

President's opening address

In a brief statement, the President, among other things, welcomed the representative of Namibia, a new ACP Member State and the new Director and Deputy Director of the CDI, Mr P. FRIX and Mr S. SHARMA respectively. He then reminded Council of some the important issues it was about to tackle, including those regarding the financial predicament of the Secretariat as well as problems of ACP-EEC Cooperation. He finally paid tribute to the former ACP Council President and his bureau for their efficient execution of their difficult mandates, and the Committee of Ambassadors and the Secretariat for their efforts in preparing the session.

Item 1: Adoption of the agenda [ACP/25/015/90 Rev.4]

The draft agenda was adopted subject to the addition under "Any other business" of the issue on "the status of Commission delegates in ACP countries."

Item 2: Appointment of Rapporteur and Friends of the Rapporteur

The Central African region, whose turn it was to appoint a Rapporteur, designated RWANDA for the post.

The Rapporteur would be assisted by the following Friends of the Rapporteur appointed by their respective regions:

- BENIN

- MADAGASCAR

- MALAWI

- PAPUA NEW GUINEA; and

- TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Item 3: Statement from the Chair

Among other things, the President informed Council of the outcome of the Bureau's meeting of 28 November 1990, relating to:

- the draft agenda of Council

- application of Article 5 of Lomé IV

- the financial predicament of the ACP Secretariat; and

- the issue regarding the rationalization of the terms of office of ACP Council Presidents.

Item 4: Approval of the summary record of the 50th ACP Council Session held on 26 and 27 March 1990 at Suva, Fiji [ACP/25/012/90]

Council adopted the summary record of the ACP Council Session of Fiji presented by that meeting's Rapporteur Honourable Mr Berenado VUNIBOBO, Minister of Trade of Commerce of Fiji.

Item 5: Consideration of the report on the follow-up to Council decisions and resolutions

The President pointed out that the document relating to the above issue had been circulated for information under reference number ACP/25/006/90 Rev.2.

Item 6: Bureau report on the mandate it received from the 50th Council Session [ACP/25/013/90 ]

Council took note of the summary record of the meeting of the ACP Council Bureau held on 11 and 12 June 1990 in ACP House in Brussels to discuss, among other things, issues relating to:

- the appointment of an ACP candidate to the post of CDI Director and

- the review of the Georgetown Agreement.

• Institutional matters concerning the CDI [ACP/85/035/90]

- ACP members on the Advisory Committee of the Council on Industrial Cooperation (CIC)

- ACP members on the ACP-EEC Committee on Industrial Cooperation

- ACP members on the CDI Executive Board and finally

- the ACP candidate for the post of CDI Director.

• Proposed amendements to the text of the Georgetown Agreement [ACP/27/023/90]

During this exchange of views, Council stressed the need to:

- revitalize the Preamble of the Agreement

- stipulate more precisely certain proposals, especially those regarding the ACP side of the Joint Assembly and the ACP Secretariat; and

- consider ways and means of introducing Portuguese as a third working language of the ACP.

Council noted the recommendation by the Ministerial Bureau that the appointment of the ACP Secretary General should be on the basis of rotation among the regions. Furthermore, it noted a suggestion that the appointment should be on the basis of criteria of competence.

As regards the procedure for giving mandates to the Ministerial Bureau, Council asked the Committee of Ambassadors to examine the issue and present to the next Council Bureau, in the global framework of proposals for the review of the Georgetown Agreement, practical suggestions for rationalizing the current procedure for handing over to the in-coming Bureau.

Following the exchange of views, Council decided:

a. that the Council Bureau, with the assistance of the Committee of Ambassadors and Secretariat, should finalize the review of the Georgetown Agreement in the light of Council's observations; and

b. that the Bureau's report should be submitted to the 52nd ACP Council Session.

Item 7: Consideration of the Committee of Ambassadors report to Council [ACP/26/098/90 Rev.2]

a. Council received the following documents:

I. Committee of Ambassadors' recommendations on the Consultants' report on the structure, functioning and conditions of service of the ACP Secretariat [Ref. doc. ACP/41/035/89];

ii. Draft ACP Budget for 1991 [ACP/45/023/90 Rev.2]

Accompanying documents:

- Auditors report for 1989 [ACP/45/029/90]

- Report on the implementation of the 1990 Budget

- Position of Reserve Fund [ACP/45/028/90 Rev.1]

iii. Financial situation and state of contributions [ACP/45/031/90 and ACP/45/027/90]

b. Presentation by the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors:

H. E. Mr Falilou KANE OF Senegal, current Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors, presenting the Committee's Activity Report [ACP/26/098/90 Rev.2], reviewed the different sections of the document, namely,

- internal matters

- Intra-ACP Cooperation

- ACP-EEC Cooperation

- ACP-EEC Joint Assembly matters

- Namibia's accession to Lomé IV and to the Georgetown Agreement, and

- Press, Information, Public Relations and Protocol.

In his presentation, he drew Council's attention to the recommendations requiring guidelines from Council.

c. Council's deliberations on the Activity Report

During the ensuing consideration of the report, Council made the following major observations:

Internal matters

Financial situation and state of contributions: Emphasis was laid on the need for each country to honour its commitments to the ACP Group. The President recalled the Council Bureau's proposal to send letters to Heads of State and Government of defaulting countries.

Finally, prior to Council's adoption of this part of the report, it was suggested that one should have recourse to ACP Boards of Auditors to audit the Secretariat's accounts.

Intra-ACP Cooperation

The ACP States were called upon to give a strong backing to ACP efforts towards South-South Cooperation especially by making suggestions and identifying areas of Intra-ACP Cooperation that can be financed under Lomé IV.

This part of the report was adopted.

ACP-EEC Cooperation

During the discussion, Council also heard special ministerial reports (vide item 10) on Sugar, Bananas and Commodities.

Agricultural Cooperation: Council took note of this section of the report.

Commodities: H. E. Mr Abbey KAFUMBE-MUKASA, Deputy Minister of Finance of Uganda and Chairman of the Ministerial Committee on Commodities presented the summary record of his Committee's meeting of 28 June 1990.

[ACP/67/068/90 at Annex I]

Following the discussions, Council subscribed to the report's recommendations particularly regarding:

- special issues relating to International Commodity Agreements;

- follow-up to studies on the PMDT of Commodities;

- preliminary exchange of views on the draft rules of procedure of the Article 75 Ministerial Committee under Lomé IV; and

instructed the Committee of Ambassadors to take the relevant measures for the implementation of the recommendations as soon as possible.

Uruguay Round: Council deferred the consideration of this part of the report to the ACP Special Council Session on the Uruguay Round Negotiations scheduled for 30 November 1990.

Sugar: Council took note of the attached summary record (Annex II) of the meeting of 27 November 1990 of ACP Ministers responsible for Sugar. The Report was represented to Council by Hon. Mr Berenado VUNIBOBO, Minister of Trade and Economic Affairs of Fiji, Acting Ministerial spokesman on Sugar.

Bananas: H. E. Mme Eugenia CHARLES, Prime Minister of Dominica and spokes-person of ACP Ministers responsible for bananas, informed Council of the outcome of their meeting of 28 November 1990 [ACP/67/069/90 at Annex III]. She asked Council to adopt the ACP draft proposal regarding the rules and joint measures governing the banana trade in the Single European Market.

[ACP/67/033/90 Rev.4]

Council took note of the Prime Minister's report.

Stabex: Council supported the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee of Ambassadors regarding outstanding transfers under the 1980, 81, 87, 88 and 89 years of application. It further felt the problem should be submitted to the next ACP-EEC Council.

Report from the Article 193 Committee

The summary record of the meeting of the Committee for Cooperation in development financing [Article. 193] held on 28 November 1990 was presented by the Chairman Dr. Sahadeo BASDEO, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Trinidad and Tobago. The Minister's statement [Annex IV] concerned mainly his Committee's report [ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1].

Council took note of the report.

Issues relating to the ACP-EEC Joint Assembly

Under this item H. E. Mr C. K. KATUNGI, Ambassador of Uganda announced that the Vice-President of the ANC, Mr Nelson MANDELA would address the forthcoming ACP-EEC Joint Assembly scheduled for Kampala, Uganda from 21 February to 2 March 1991. He appealed to the ACP States to be fully represented.

Council took note of this part of the report.

Other issues

- Working Group report on human rights and Article 5 of Lomé IV

[ACP/27/035/90 Rev.1]

The above report was submitted to Council by the Chairman of the Working Group,

H. E. Mr R. CHASLE of Mauritius who also presented the draft resolution prepared by the Group and attached to the report.

After briefing Council especially on the background to the disagreement between the Commission and Sudan over the issue of human rights, H. E. Mr Saeed S.M. SAAD

of Sudan proposed some amendments to the draft resolution presented by the Working Group.

During the ensuing exchange of views, the speakers expressed their opinions and unanimously endorsed the contents of the draft resolution presented by the Working Group.

After registering its agreement with the principles and objectives of the draft resolution, Council, however, decided to request the Committee of Ambassadors to examine and finalize the text following the amendments and presentations made by Sudan and other speakers.

Item 3: Accession of Namibia to the Georgetown Agreement and the Lomé Convention

In his introductory address, the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors first recalled the background to the steps taken by Namibia in view of its pending accession to Lomé IV and the decision taken on the issue by the ACP-EEC Committee of Ambassadors on 23 November 1990. He specified, among other things, that since the procedure for the accession of Namibia was completed, the Committee of Ambassadors felt that all the necessary conditions for the country's accession to Lomé IV had been fulfilled.

As regards its request for accession to the Georgetown Agreement, the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors recalled that, given the positive decision taken on the issue by the Committee of Ambassadors since May 1990, it now remained for Council to endorse the country's accession to the Agreement.

Taking the floor at that stage of discussions, the Chargé d'Affaires of Namibia in Brussels, Mr Peter MANNING, recalled the efforts made by his country in its long struggle for independence and the challenges it is currently faced with. He particularly thanked the ACP States for their support and for the favourable decision taken by the ACP-EEC Committee of Ambassadors in respect of Namibia's accession to Lomé IV.

Having taken note of the positive interventions in this regard, Council welcomed Namibia to the ACP Group.

Item 9: Situation in South and Southern Africa

On behalf of the ACP countries in the Southern Africa region H. E. Mr K. NSINGO, Ambassador of Zambia delivered a speech on the situation in south and Southern Africa. The Spokesman for the region called on the ACP to ensure that the sanctions against South Africa are maintained and proposed a set of measures including support for the countries in the region, particularly those facing problems of refugees and displaced persons.

The Ambassador's speech was followed by brief statements from two representatives of the South African Council of Churches, Reverend Frank CHIKANE and Mr F. MILL, Secretary General and Administrative Secretary of the above Council.

They appealed to the EEC not to open a Bureau in Pretoria save for technical coordination purposes and called on the International Community in particular to work towards the total abolition of apartheid.

Delegates expressed concern on the situation in South and Southern Africa and condemned the apartheid regime, recalling notably that in the year 1990 alone over 900 lives had been lost in South Africa alone as a result of violence.

Item 10: Special Ministerial Reports

a. Article 193

b. Sugar

c. Banana

d. Commodities

Since Council had already exchanged views on the above reports during its examination of the Committee of Ambassadors report to it, (see sub item 7, pages 8, 9 and 10), it was not necessary for it to consider them again under this item.

Item 11: Appointment of Members of the Ministerial Bureau to take office with effect from 1 February 1991 [ACP/549/79 Rev.18]

The following countries were appointed members of the new Bureau by their respective regions:

Central Africa : RWANDA (Chairman)

Southern Africa : ZAMBIA

East Africa : MADAGASCAR

West Africa : BURKINA FASO

The Caribbean : GRENADA

The Pacific : FIJI

Item 12: Date and venue of the next meeting

a. of the ACP Council of Ministers

b. of the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers

The President announced the following provisional dates for the 52nd ACP Council Session and the 16th Session of the ACP-EEC Council:

- 52nd ACP Council: 23 and 24 April 1991 in Brussels

- 16th ACP-EEC Council: 25 and 26 April 1991 in Luxembourg.

Item 13: Outcome of the 51st ACP Council Session

Council examined the following draft decisions and resolutions contained in document [ACP/25/020/90]:

a. Decisions

I. Decision N°1/LI/90 concerning the admission of the Republic of Namibia as a member of the ACP Group: adopted without amendment;

ii. Decision N°2/LI/90 relating to the Procedure for extending the mandate of the Council Bureau: adopted without amendment;

iii. Decision N°3/LI/90 concerning the ACP General Secretariat Budget for 1991: adopted subject to certain precise information regarding the fees charged by the EEC International School for the 1989-90 school year;

iv. Decision N°4/LI/90 relating to the financial position of the Secretariat and the state of contributions: adopted without amendment;

v. Decision N°5/LI/90 bearing on the acquisition of a new ACP House and official residence for the ACP Secretary General: adopted without amendment;

vi. Decision N°6/LI/90 relating to the finalization of the review of the Georgetown Agreement: adopted without amendment.

b. Resolution

I. Resolution N°1/LI/90 concerning the application of Article 5 of Lomé IV:

referred to the Committee of Ambassadors for finalization and adoption;

ii. Resolution N°2/LI/90 relating to the Community action in favour of Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru in the framework of the implementation of the GSP for 1991 and the following years:

adopted subject to certain improvements proposed;

iii. Resolution N°3/LI/90 relating to bananas: adopted without amendment;

iv. Resolution N°3/LI/90 [XLVII] relating to Commodities: adopted without amendment.

Council then made following remarks on four other issues:

- Protocol between the ACP Group and the ACP-EEC Foundation for Cultural Cooperation: It was recalled that the above issue featured among those referred to the Committee of Ambassadors to finalization;

- Sugar: Council instructed the Secretariat to have the draft resolution on Sugar translated and submitted to the Committee of Ambassadors for adoption;

- Committee of Ambassadors' recommendations relating to the Consultant's report on the structure, functioning and conditions of service of the Secretariat: The Committee of Ambassadors was called upon to do all it could to submit the recommendations made on the above issue to the 52nd Session of the ACP Council of Ministers;

- Second World Conference on Climate: Council entrusted the Committee of Ambassadors with the task of finalizing and adopting the draft resolution on the above.

Item 14: Any other business

- Status of Commission delegates in ACP countries [ACP/27/034/90]

During an exchange of views on the above issue introduced by

H. E. Mr M. B. EKAPANG of Nigeria, it was recalled, among other things that:

- Pursuant to the provisions of Lomé IV [Annex LXXIII, on joint declaration relating to Protocol N° 3 on Commission delegations], it is stated, among other things, that "the ACP States shall grant Commission delegations privileges and immunities similar to those granted to diplomatic missions so that they are able to carry out the functions incumbent on them";

- this issue had been raised at the Committee of Ambassadors' level and it appeared it had already been resolved at the level of many ACP countries; and

- finally, it was up to the Commission to find a solution to the problems of granting the ACP Secretariat stiff "laissez-passer" to facilitate their movement in the framework of their functions.

After the exchange of views, Council concluded that the issue relating to the status of the Commission delegates should be left for each country to resolve in accordance with its own legislations.

Closing address

In his closing remarks, the President sincerely thanked especially Council, the Committee of Ambassadors as well as the Secretariat for their kind support.

Finally, before declaring the session closed at 13.15 on 30 November 1990, he wished the delegates safe journey and all the best for the end-of-year festivities.

Tr:SO/AHM/Rev.SB/fk Brussels, 28 November 1990
 
 

ii. long-term strategy

- frequent consultations should be held between producer countries with a view to ensuring a better regulation of supply for just and remunerative prices.

Council may wish to endorse the above strategy.

b. International Cocoa Agreement

After examining the issues pertaining to the International Cocoa Agreement [Doc. ACP/67/064/90] the Ministerial Committee recommends that Council adopt the following recommendations:

I. short- and medium-term strategy:

Since the fundamental objective of the ACP cocoa-producing countries is to negotiate a new International Cocoa Agreement with economic clauses capable of defending price margins effectively; it would be desirable:

- for the ACP and the Community to urge within the framework of consultations the United States, the leading consumer, and Malaysia, the third largest producer, to become parties to the Agreement;

- for the main price-defence mechanism (buffer stock system) to be changed into a quota system when a new agreement is negotiated;

- for a common ACP-EEC approach to be defined at the 16th Session of the ACP-EEC Council of Ministers.

ii. long-term strategy:

- efforts should be made to conceive a concerted production policy in the context of the Alliance of cocoa-producing countries, with a view to regulating the supply while ensuring remunerative prices.

2. Follow-up to studies on PMDT of ACP Commodities (implementation of Article 45 of the Third Lomé Convention)

In view of the importance that ACP States attach to the PMDT of their products, the Ministerial Committee, while agreeing to extend these studies to other products, notably coffee, cocoa, bauxite, iron and copper, requested the Committee of Ambassadors to prepare and submit to it during its next meeting a strategy for guaranteeing a greater participation of the ACP States in the PMDT of their product in the light of the initial studies conducted.

Council may wish to take note of the above.

3. Rules of Procedure of the Ministerial Committee on Commodities [Article 75 Committee]

The Ministerial Committee took note of the preliminary draft rules of procedure [Doc. ACP/67/047/90] for the Ministerial Committee on Commodities. The Ministerial Committee requests the ACP States to examine this draft and to submit their observations to the Secretariat so as to enable the ACP-EEC Council to adopt these rules at its 16th Session.

The observations of the ACP States are pertinent since the work of the Commodities Committee has been widened to cover mineral and metals.

Council is requested to note the above.

ACP/25/021/90 Rev.2 ANNEX II

GF/fk Brussels, 28 November 1990

Mr President,

Honourable Ministers,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Colleagues,

It is my privilege to report to Council the outcome of the deliberations of Ministers responsible for sugar who met on Tuesday 27 November 1990 to examine the progress made on the various issues of concern and interests to them.

In the absence of the substantive Ministerial Spokesman, my colleague Minister Dulloo of Mauritius, who regrets being unable to attend this Session of Council I had the honour to preside over these consultations.

Ministers first examined questions relating to the prices received for sugar supplied to the Community under the terms of the Protocol, and noted that in accordance with the mandate given to the Subcommittee, the agreement on the guaranteed price for the 1988/89 was signed in June this year. This represented a further freeze following three successive years in which the ACP guaranteed price has remained stagnant.

Ministers also noted that in respect of the guaranteed price for 1989/90 the Commission has offered a two percent reduction in the already stagnant price. As regards the price which should apply in the current delivery period, i.e., 1990/91, only the formal opening of the negotiations took place at the end of April this year without any offer from the Community. Ministers observed that these circumstances have created a serious legal vacuum in that no agreement has been reached on the ACP guaranteed price for the last two years.

Against this background, Ministers were deeply concerned about the Community's delay in taking a decision on the Commission's proposal for compensating the ACP sugar supplying States for the loss in export incomes resulting from the prolonged freeze and the two percent reduction in guaranteed price. This proposal from the Commission stemmed from the recognition that the Community's pricing policy in its sugar sector was creating difficulties for ACP countries which might find it difficult, under these circumstances, to honour their supply obligations. The ACP sugar supplying States have decided to give priority consideration to this issue of compensation before tackling other related issues designed to improve the position of their sugar industries.

Ministers decided therefore to intensify the lobbying action initiated in September when a team of ACP Ministers visited a number of EEC Ministers of Agriculture in Brussels and in this respect considered that it was desirable when possible to visit EEC Ministers of Agriculture and other relevant political personalities in the various capitals of the Member States.

These concerns underscored the need for the establishment of a Special Fund to facilitate the lobbying activities of the Group as was decided by the Third Special Ministerial Conference on Sugar held in London earlier this year. Ministers therefore agreed that the Special Fund be established immediately along the lines proposed by the Subcommittee.

In this context, Ministers mandated the Bureau of the Subcommittee to visit capitals of the various Member States when deemed necessary and, in the light of the present circumstances indicated that the visit to Portugal should be given immediate priority.

Ministers endorsed the procedure communicated by the Subcommittee with regard to the Commission's proposal for a study on transport costs for ACP States in the context of sugar supplied to the Community under the Protocol. a trilateral meeting between the ACP, DG VI and DG VII of the

Commission will be arranged shortly to exchange views on the scope and purpose of the study. Ministers also reaffirmed that while accepting the study they should not relinquish their claim for some form of assistance to off set the heavy burden of freight costs (ocean and overland) especially in the light of rising energy costs brought about by the crisis in the Gulf.

Ministers again pledged their full support for the accession of Papua New Guinea and Zambia to the Protocol on Sugar and stressed that it was important for the Commission to complete its technical examination within the first three months of 1991. In this regard Ministers reaffirmed that the onus was on the Commission to secure economically viable quotas for the two applicant States while safeguarding the interests of the initial signatories to the Protocol and reiterated their conviction that the Portuguese market could offer an appropriate solution to this question.

Finally, Ministers mandated the Subcommittee to continue to monitor carefully the developments with regard to the conclusion of the GATT Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations and the coming review of the EEC's sugar regime in view of the fact that the Community's position on these issues could have significant consequences on future guaranteed prices for ACP sugar.

Mr President, the ACP States signatory to the Protocol will be submitting a Resolution on these issues and request its adoption and subsequent transmission to the EEC institutions under the Convention.

I thank you.

ACP/25/021/90 Rev.2 ANNEX III

GF/fk Brussels, 28 November 1990

Mr President,

Honourable Ministers,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Colleagues,

ACP Ministers responsible for matters pertaining to bananas, held consultations on Wednesday, 28 November 1990 on a number of issues of extreme importance to them.

It was my privilege and honour to be nominated as their Ministerial Spokesperson in this regard and to preside over their deliberations.

Priority was given to an examination of the proposal on the Common Rules and Regulations for bananas in the Single European Market submitted by the ACP States which are the traditional suppliers to the Community. The proposal represents the joint efforts of representatives from Africa and the Caribbean with protected markets in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. As Council is no doubt aware, the conclusion of the Single Market will put an end to the present protective arrangements and expose ACP bananas to the stiff competition from freely circulating dollar bananas.

Council is equally aware that the recently concluded Lomé IV Convention contains a firm commitment by the Community to safeguard the acquis of traditional ACP suppliers by formulating rules which would not place the ACP States concerned in a less favourable situation than in the past or at present as regards access to and advantages on the Community Market.

The commitment goes further to undertake to consult fully with the ACP States in establishing these Rules. It is in this context that the States concerned have drawn up these proposals which will serve as the ACP input into the Commission's efforts on this crucial matter.

It is very important that the proposal goes out as an ACP position having the full support and endorsement of this Council so that it is given due attention and account taken of its contents by the EEC.

Council is requested therefore to adopt this proposal which is circulated as Doc. ACP/67/033/90 Rev.4 to allow its early, formal submission to the Commission.

Ministers next turned their attention to the type of activities which would be necessary to secure the support of the several Member States of the Community for the ACP position.

They agreed that the lobbying efforts already initiated by individual ACP Ministers should be intensified in the coming months. It was deemed desirable that groups of Ministers representative of both Africa and the Caribbean should arrange to meet in their capitals if possible EEC Ministers of Trade and of Agriculture of the Member States which are traditional markets for ACP bananas, as well as other Member States of the Community. In this regard a memorandum stressing the importance of the ACP-EEC banana trade is to be prepared for use by Ministers during these lobbying visits.

Ministers also mandated their Brussels-based Ambassadors to keep very close and constant with the EEC Commissioners for Economic and Financial Affairs, Competition, Agriculture and Development and with the Permanent Representatives of EEC Member States to ensure that the importance which the ACP attach to maintaining their acquis under the Protocol is fully appreciated.

Ministers took note of the outcome of the visit to Hamburg, Germany during last October when ACP producers were invited to obtain a first-hand appreciation of the requirements of that market which traditionally trades in dollar fruit only. The visit disclosed that there were some possibilities for trade subject to the availability of ACP bananas on a regular basis.

Finally, Mr President, Ministers of ACP banana supplying States are presenting to this Council, for adoption and subsequent submission to the EEC and its relevant institutions, a Resolution which incorporates all their concerns about this matter.

I thank you, Mr President.

ACP/25/021/90 Rev.2 ANNEX IV

29th November, 1990

I. INTRODUCTION

• The Development Finance Cooperation Committee met on 28 November 1990 and noted that since the last meeting of the Council of Ministers in March 1990, there has been considerable progress in many important areas of our work.

• I am particularly pleased to report the work on the General Regulations, General Conditions and Arbitration Rules applicable to contracts financed by the European Development Fund [EDF] has, after nearly a decade of intensive, and sometimes, stormy debate, come to a satisfactory end.
• We are satisfied that the new instruments if used judiciously will not only make for improved implementation of projects and programmes, but will also ensure optimal protection of the interests of each and every ACP State.
• In accordance with the decision of Council in March 1990, ACP-EEC Jurists-Linguists met and completed their work in June 1990. The Development Finance Cooperation Committee has since approved the work done and settled all outstanding matters relating to the instruments. Thus, the date of entry into force has been set at 1st June 1991.
• The Instruments are intended for use by persons from all walks of life who may not necessarily be able to fully grasp the technical content and implications of the Instruments. In fact, it may well be that certain nuances in the documents could only be apparent to the negotiators and others who have participated in the technical elaboration of the documents.
• In its consideration of the Instruments, Council foresaw the necessity of ensuring that potential users are sufficiently apprised of the contents of the Instruments before their entry into force. In this regard, the ACP-EEC Authorized Representatives have drawn up joint conclusions relating to follow-up action aimed at familiarizing users with the instruments. The joint conclusions refer to the elaboration of users' guides and to regional users' seminars which will be held during the first half of 1991 [Annex I of Doc. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1].
• Our Committee has also agreed to ensure the elaboration of guidelines for the preparations of Special Conditions which serve to modify the articles of the General Conditions and to make them more appropriate to specific contracts.

• Another major event was the Second Meeting of the National Authorizing Officers which was held in Brussels from 11th to 19th June 1990. You will recall that the First Meeting of the National Authorizing Officers was held in Brussels in July 1987. One of the recommendations of the National Authorizing Officers was that similar meetings should be convened on a regular basis.
• In May 1988, the ACP Council of Ministers decided that such meetings should be organized:
• every two years, at regional level; and
• as and when necessary, at ACP level on the basis of a decision taken by the Article 193 Ministerial Committee.
• It was on the basis of that decision that the Second Meeting was convened in June 1990.
• It was considered that it was an appropriate point in time to bring the NAOs together to consider the new provisions of Lomé IV Convention and to consider the strategy for their successful implementation.
• The meeting also offered the NAOs an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the General Regulations, General Conditions and Arbitration Rules for EDF contracts. Furthermore, the NAOs had the opportunity of meeting with officials of the Commission for an exchange of views which enabled a better appreciation of the complexities of implementation and of how to solve some of the problems encountered in the field. For our Committee, the meeting provided updated information which should enhance the process of communication that is so vital to successful implementation of the Convention. A record of the conclusions and recommendations of the National Authorizing Officers is annexed to the draft report before you [Annex II of ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1].
• The Committee has already given some consideration to the conclusions and recommendations of the NAOs and has agreed to submit them to the Council of Ministers for noting. The conclusions and recommendations will be examined in depth by the Committee and directed to the relevant organs for appropriate action. In particular, the conclusions and recommendations will provide a basis for our input into the joint study on implementation procedures that Vice-President Marin announced to us at our meeting in March earlier on this year. In this way we trust that we can ensure that the study provides true and durale solutions to the problems of slow implementation and disbursement which have

IV. WORK PROGRAMME [ANNEXES III, IV AND V OF DOC. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1]

• The Committee has also approved a Work Programme based on the mandate given to the Committee under the Fourth Lomé Convention. The Work Programmes for the ACP and the ACP-EEC Committees are also annexed to the draft Report before you [Annexes III, IV and V]. Some of the activities envisaged are:
• the follow-up action relating to the general regulations, general conditions and arbitration rules for EDF contracts that I mentioned earlier;

• the joint study on EDF implementation procedures that was announced to us by Mr MARIN at the March meeting of the Joint Council of Ministers in Fiji;
• the implementation of the joint declaration on evaluation in Annex LV (fifty five) of the Fourth Lomé Convention;
• consideration of the Commission's recent proposals on debt relief and implementation of measures to ensure further debt relief, and in particular, measures to ensure that EEC action extends to bilateral commitments and to the discussions within other multilateral fora;
• working session with the European Investment Bank (EIB);
• follow-up action on the studies on Investment undertaken under the Third Lomé Convention and commissioning of studies provided for under the Fourth Lomé Convention;
• consideration of strategy for the implementation of the Lomé IV provisions on structural adjustment support.
• On the issue of debt we emphasized that given the limited success of debt relief strategies, it is clear that, if further and more substantial relief efforts are not made, the debt burden could jeopardise all efforts being made by the ACP Group to improve its economic situation and undermine the very development which the Convention is designed to promote.
• During the negotiations for Lomé IV, the ACP Group was led to believe that the EEC would be forthcoming with proposals concerning the cancellation of, or further relief from, existing ACP debt to the Community. Up to the Lomé IV signing ceremony no such announcement was made.
• Since then the Community has come to terms with the fact that there must be a more comprehensive and systematic approach to the debt problem facing the ACP States. Thus, in September 1990, the Joint Assembly adopted a far-reaching resolution on ACP indebtedness which provided a solid basis for the pursuit of further debt relief action. On 15th November 1990, Vice-President Marin of the Commission officially announced to the ACP Committee of Ambassadors that the Commission was "now in a position to table its proposals with a view to a decision very much along the lines desired by its various partners."
• Indeed, the proposal goes far in responding to our request relating to debt owed by the ACP States to the Community, but makes no reference to our bilateral commitments to EEC Member States nor to our difficulties in other multilateral contexts. Our Committee will be considering the proposal in more depth in the near future and will draw up proposals aimed at ensuring that further action is taken. It is high time that we started to consider, very seriously, the implementation of the Joint Declaration on debt that is annexed to the Fourth Lomé Convention, which calls for the constitution of an appropriate forum for exchange of views between the ACP and the EEC on this very important issue of ACP indebtedness.

• Our Committee has also given careful consideration to the ability of the present staff to cope with the massive increase in the responsibilities assigned to them. It is hoped that the matter of staffing will be settled expeditiously. Failure to do so may seriously jeopardise the chances of our succeeding in our endeavour to implement this important Title of the Lomé IV provisions.

• Finally, the Committee has approved its Rules of Procedures which are much the same as the Rules adopted for the Article 108 and Article 193 Committees. We have agreed that the Committee should be open-ended at ACP level. For the purposes of meetings with the Community, however, Articles 326 of the Fourth Lomé Convention stipulates that the Committee should be composed on the basis of parity. This means that the Committee has to have a core Membership of 13, to march the EEC Membership which comprises each of the 12 Member States of the Community and the Commission.
• We have agreed that there should be two Members from each of the six regions and the immediate past Chairman should be the thirteen (13th) member. We feel that this will ensure both regional balance and continuity. I have the honour to inform you that the following ACP countries are Members of the core Group:
• West Africa

2. Mali [Vice-Chairman]

• Central Africa

4. Congo

• East Africa

6. Tanzania

• Southern Africa

8. Lesotho [Vice-Chairman]

• Caribbean

10. Trinidad and Tobago [Chairman]

• Pacific

12. Western Samoa

• Immediate Past Chairman

• One other issue which I would like to bring to your attention is the matte of rotation of the Chairmanship of our Committee. Article 2 and 4 of the present Rules of Procedure provide that the Chairmanship and Membership of the Committee should be rotated every year. You may recall that the rules of procedures of the Article 108 and Article 193 Committees were governed by similar provisions. In practice, however, the Chairmanship and the Membership were, for practical reasons maintained for considerably longer periods. Experienced members of the Committee brought to our attention that the present tradition has proved effective in ensuring the necessary continuity for the accomplishment of the Committee's complex mandate. We therefore agreed to bear these considerations in mind in the rotation of the Chairmanship and indeed, the Membership of the Committee.
• Finally, during our deliberations on the rules of procedure the question of timing of the meetings of the Committee was raised. There is a general feeling that the Committee's meetings have been somewhat marginalized in the past, and are generally only a sort of two-hour side-show taking place only a few hours before the Council of Ministers; and yet the Committee is called upon to deliberate on such crucial issues as debt, structural adjustment and investment, to mention only a few. In order to ensure that the work of our Committee has the desired impact on ACP-EEC Cooperation, we should devote a full day, at the very least, to our deliberations, and seriously consider applying Article 6 of the Rules of Procedure, which provides for the possibility of convening meetings at other times.

• The Development Finance Cooperation Committee recommends that Council:
• take note of the Report of the Committee presented in Doc. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1;
• note that the work on General Regulations, General Conditions and Arbitration Rules for EDF contracts has been completed; and note that the joint conclusions thereon [Annex I of Doc. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1];
• note that preparations are under way for the elaboration of users' guides and the holding of seminars for the users of the Regulations, Conditions and Arbitration Rules;
• note the main conclusions and recommendations of the meeting of the National Authorizing Officers held in June 1990 [Annex II of Doc. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1];
• consider the recommendations in depth and to refer them to the relevant organs for appropriate action;
• ensure that the conclusions and recommendations are taken into consideration in the execution of the joint study on implementation procedures to be undertaken under the 1990/1991 Work Programme.
• note the Work Programme of the Committee [Annexes III, IV and V of Doc. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1]

• note the draft rules of procedure of the Committee and the composition of the Committee for the purposes of ACP-EEC meetings [Annex VI of Doc. ACP/81/069/90 Rev.1];
• note the composition of the Committee for the purposes of ACP-EEC meetings and the need to ensure continuity within the Committee.