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DECISIONS AND RESOLUTIONSOF THE 66TH SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERSHELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON 3 NOVEMBER 1997Libreville, 4 November 1997ACP/25/016/97 Rev.1 |
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DECISIONS
N° 1 The ACP General Secretariat's 1998 Budget
N°2 Appointment of external auditor
N°3 External auditor's report for 1997
N°4 Coordination of ACP Group within the WTO and other international fora
RESOLUTIONS
N°1 Sugar
N°2 Rice
N°3 Bananas
N°4 Ratification of the Agreement Amending the Fourth ACP-EC Lome Convention
N°5 Charles Katungi training project
DECISION N° 1/LXVI/97
OF THE 66th SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON
3 NOVEMBER 1997
| THE ACP GENERAL SECRETARIAT'S 1998 BUDGET |
The ACP Council of Ministers,
HAVING REGARD to the provisions of the Georgetown Agreement and the Financial Regulations of the ACP Group;
HAVING EXAMINED the ACP General Secretariat's 1998 draft budget (ACP/45/030/97 Rev.1) as recommended by the Committee of Ambassadors;
DECIDES :
a) that the amount of the ACP General Secretariat's 1998 budget be fixed at BF 287 991 000 and that it shall be financed as follows:
- Contributions from ACP States BF 135 424 000
- EDF contributions 127 976 000
- Tax revenue 24 471 000
- Hiring out of ACP House 120 000
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BF 287 991 000
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b) that the Secretary General is authorized to utilise any savings in the 1998 budget to progressively introduce the Portuguese language.
Done in Libreville, 3 November 1997
Hon. Dr. Nathan M. SHAMUYARIRA
Minister of Industry and Commerce of Zimbabwe
President of the ACP Council of Ministers
DECISION N° 2/LXVI/97
OF THE 66th SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON
3 NOVEMBER 1997
| APPOINTMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITOR |
The ACP Council of Ministers,
PURSUANT to Articles 17 and 18 of the Financial Regulations;
CONSIDERING the recommendation of the Committee of Ambassadors to have recourse to the firm Deloitte, Touche and Tohmatsu for the audit of the Secretariat's 1997 accounts;
DECIDES that the firm Deloitte, Touche and Tohmatsu be appointed to undertake the audit of the Secretariat's 1997 accounts.
Done in Libreville, 3 November 1997
Hon. Dr. Nathan M. SHAMUYARIRA
Minister of Industry and Commerce of Zimbabwe
President of the ACP Council of Ministers
DECISION N° 3/LXVI/97
OF THE 66th SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON
3 NOVEMBER 1997
| EXTERNAL AUDITOR'S REPORT FOR 1996 |
The ACP Council of Ministers,
CONSIDERING the activity report of the Committee of Ambassadors since the 65th session (ACP/26/087/97 Rev 2);
HAVING NOTED that the external auditor certifies without qualification that the Balance Sheet and the Statement of Revenues and Expenses for the year ended 31 December 1996 give a true and fair view of the financial position and results of the General Secretariat;
HAVING NOTED further that the Committee of Ambassadors has examined this report (ACP/45/033/97) as well as the Secretariat's comments thereon (ACP/45/032/97) and has recommended them for adoption;
HAVING REGARD to Article 22 of the Financial Regulations;
HEREBY DECIDES that:
a) the external auditor's report on the Secretariat's accounts for 1996 be approved.
b) the Authorizing officer be given discharge for the 1996 financial year.
Done in Libreville, 3 November 1997
Hon. Dr. Nathan M. SHAMUYARIRA
Minister of Industry and Commerce of Zimbabwe
President of the ACP Council of Ministers
DECISION N° 4/LXVI/97
OF THE66TH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE ON 3 NOVEMBER
1997
| COORDINATION OF ACP GROUP
WITHIN THE WTO AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL FORA |
The ACP Council of Ministers,
1. RECALLING its Decision Numbers 3/87 (XLII), 4/LXI/95 and 5/LXV/97;
2. RECOGNIZING the positive contribution of the Lome Convention to the economic, political, social and cultural development of the ACP States;
3. CONSCIOUS that changes on the international scene, particularly those within the WTO, are engineering a new World Order which demand a new approach in the management of international affairs;
Hereby decides to:
a) step up ACP coordination within the WTO, the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions in order to anticipate issues of relevance, fully appreciate their implications and influence their decisions;
b) mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to formulate the necessary institutional framework including financial implications to give effect to this undertaking and to submit a report to the next session of the ACP Council of Ministers on measures taken.
Done in Libreville, on 3 November 1997
Hon. Dr. Nathan M. SHAMUYARIRA
Minister of Industry and Commerce of Zimbabwe
President of the ACP Council of Ministers.
RESOLUTION N° 1/LXVI/97
OF THE 66TH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF ACP MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON 3 NOVEMBER 1997
A. Reaffirming its resolution on sugar adopted during the 65th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers held in Brussels (Belgium) from the 21 to 23 April 1997;
B. Recalling the resolution adopted by the 24th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly held in Brussels (Belgium) from 17 to 20 March 1997;
C. Also recalling the resolution adopted by the 25th Session of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly held in Lomé (Togo) from the 27 to 29 October 1997;
D. Reiterating the contribution of the Sugar industry to the socio-economic development of the States signatory to the Sugar Protocol which plays a vital role in ensuring political, economic and social stability.
E. Reaffirming that the ACP Sugar Supplying States are fully committed to supplying the EU raw cane sugar requirements under the Sugar Protocol and the SPS Agreement and that these preferential trading Agreements are of mutual benefit to the contracting parties;
F. Considering that the ACP Sugar Supplying States have to undertake major investment programmes at both field and factory levels so as to rationalise, reduce costs of production, improve sugar recovery, optimise the use of by-products and ensure compliance with environment norms;
G. Recalling that the cane plant, ideally suited to our climatic conditions, and the sugar industry are environmentally friendly and that the optimal tapping of their potential lies in the implementation of such investment programmes which only stable export earnings can ensure;
H. Reaffirming that the earnings secured through the Sugar Protocol and SPS agreement enable the ACP Sugar Supplying States to conform with the objectives as set out in the preamble of the Marrakesh agreement establishing the WTO in respect of standards of living and full employment as well as the protection and preservation of the environment;
I. Noting with satisfaction that the negotiating mandate of the Commission has excluded sugar from the ambit of trade in the proposed Free Trade Area agreement with South Africa;
J. Acknowledging the repeated assurances given by the Republic of South Africa to the effect that it will not in any way seek to obtain any benefits to the detriment of the rights and interests of the ACP States;
K. Welcoming the recent agreement of the EU to limit imports of sugar from OCT countries and expecting that it will be implemented soon;
L. Disturbed by the reinforcement of the Cairns Group and its resolute and aggressive stance in favour of far reaching and ambitious reform of world agricultural trade;
M. Recognizing that the WTO Ministerial Conference has approved the built-in agenda and that a process of information exchange and analysis has started.
N. Stressing the imperative need for the ACP and the EU to collaborate and coordinate action in this regard;
Calls on the European Union to :
(i) Fully recognize the importance of the sugar industries to the economies of the States concerned and the contribution made to their socio-economic development.
(ii) Take into account the ACP annual memorandum of economic factors in the determination of the price offer.
(iii) Note the ACP's continued reliability as long term suppliers of EU's raw cane sugar requirements within the framework of the Sugar Protocol and the SPS Agreement.
(iv) Acknowledge the mutual benefit to the contracting parties of these preferential trading agreements.
(v) Ensure that there is no further disruption of the sugar market until appropriate regulations to limit the entry of OCT sugar are in force.
(vi) Recognise the specificity of Sugar by ensuring that it is effectively excluded from the ambit of any Free Trade Area which the EU proposes to concludes.
(vii) Constitute a common front with the ACP to oppose in the WTO attacks by proponent of unbridled trade liberalisation such as the Cairns Group.
O. Instructs the President of the ACP Council of Ministers to bring this Resolution to the immediate attention of the ACP-UE Council and its Member States, the Commission, the European Parliament and all other institutions of the ACP-EU Convention.
RESOLUTION N°2/LXVI/97
OF THE 66th SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF ACP MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON
3 NOVEMBER 1997
| RICE |
The Council of ACP Ministers,
Having regard to the Fourth ACP-EC Convention of Lomé, and in particular the objectives of the trade regime to promote trade between the ACP and the Community;
Recalling the provisions of Annex XXXII of the Convention, the Joint Declaration encouraging greater regional cooperation between the ACP and neighbouring Overseas Countries and Territory (OCT);
3. Having regard for the importance of the rice industry to the ACP producing States, and its contribution to foreign exchange earnings, employment, poverty reduction and socio- development in general;
4. Noting with concern that in January 1997 the EU instituted safeguard measures against exports of OCT rice to the EU and in April decided to renew these measures;
5. Concerned that contrary to the provisions of Article 12 of the Lomé IV Convention, the ACP Group was neither informed nor consulted prior to the institution and renewal of these safeguard measures;
Calls on the EU to :
i) ensure that the objectives of the Lomé Convention of promoting trade between the ACP and the EU and greater cooperation with the OCT are achieved;
ii) consider the implications of the current safeguard measures on the ACP rice exporting States and the direct impact on income of rice farmers;
iii) discontinue the measures currently in place and enter into urgent consultations with the ACP with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution on the matter.
Urges the European Commission to enact the necessary regulations for the implementation of the provisions of the revised Annex XL without further delay.
6. Instructs the President of the ACP Council of Ministers to bring this Resolution to the attention of the ACP-EC Council and its Member States, the Commission, the European Parliament and all other institutions of the ACP-EEC Convention.
RESOLUTION N°3/LXVI/97
OF THE 66TH SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON 3 NOVEMBER 1997
BANANAS
The ACP Council of Ministers,
A. Recalling the resolutions adopted by the 65th session of the ACP Council of Ministers held in Brussels (Belgium) from 21 to 23 April 1997;
B. Whereas the European Community banana import regime was set up by Regulation 404/93 following the establishment of the internal market and is designed to organize a hitherto compartmentalized market;
C. Whereas in 1996 the United States, supported by four Latin American countries (Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala), requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a Panel under its Dispute Settlement Procedures to examine the European Community banana import regime;
D. Whereas the European Commission appealed against the findings of the Dispute Settlement Panel that certain aspects of the common organisation of the market in bananas, which grant preferential treatment to bananas produced in ACP countries and EU regions, were incompatible with the WTO rules;
E. Whereas the decision of the Appellate Body, which largely upheld the Findings of the Dispute Settlement Panel, does not take into account the vital importance of banana production for the ACP countries in terms of export incomes, employment, infrastructure development, environment protection and, more generally, their socio-economic development;
F. Having regard to the special ties between the Member States of the European Union and their African, Caribbean and Pacific partners and the Union's obligations under the Lomé Convention, in particular Protocol 5 on Bananas, which seeks to guarantee the maintenance of the ACP countries' advantages on the European market.
1. Calls on the European Union to emphasize within the WTO that the Community banana regime and the related trade preferences are genuine development instruments for a large number of ACP countries which must consequently be safeguarded.
2. Calls on the European Union to recognize its obligation and duty within the framework of the Lomé Convention and to protect the legitimate interests of ACP banana producers in any amendment to the Banana regime.
3. Calls on the European Commission to introduce a system of technical and financial assistance to ACP producers, and to take appropriate measures to avoid any collapse of market prices which would prove disastrous to ACP producers' export incomes.
4. Calls on the Commission to provide the group of ACP producers as soon as possible with technical support to enable them to carry out the necessary analyses and negotiations vis-à-vis the WTO in the best possible conditions
5. Instructs the President of the ACP Council of Ministers to bring this Resolution to the immediate attention of the ACP-UE Council and its Member States, the Commission, the European Parliament and all other institutions of the ACP-EU Convention.
RESOLUTION N°4/LXVI/97
OF THE 66TH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON
3 NOVEMBER 1997
| RATIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT
AMENDING THE FOURTH ACP-EC LOME CONVENTION |
The ACP Council of Ministers,
A. Recalling that the Agreement Amending the Fourth ACP-EC Lome Convention was signed by the ACP States and Member States of the European Community on 4 November 1995, in Mauritius;
B. Whereas the Convention provides in Article 360 that it shall enter into force on the first day of the second month following the date of deposit of the Instruments of Ratification of the Member States and of at least two-thirds of the ACP States;
C. Considering that to date 55 ACP States and 8 (of the 15) Member States of the European Union have deposited their Instruments of Ratification in compliance with Article 360 of the Convention;
D. Bearing in mind that Article 360 of the Convention also applies to the entry into force of the Protocol of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.
1. Calls upon those ACP States which have not as yet done so to expedite the constitutional processes required to complete the process of Ratification of the Agreement Amending the Fourth ACP-EC Lome IV Convention;
2. Urges those Member States of the European Union which have not as yet done so to also expedite their constitutional processes in order for the Agreement to enter into force.
3. Reminds the ACP States that they are also required to ratify the Protocol of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.
4. Requests the ACP President of Council to transmit this Resolution to his European counterpart.
RESOLUTION N° 5/LXV1/97
OF THE 66TH SESSION OF THE COUNCIL OF ACP MINISTERS
HELD IN LIBREVILLE, GABON ON 3 NOVEMBER 1997
A. Given the priority the ACP Council of Ministers has attached to capacity building in ACP countries;
B. Given the objective of the Charles Katungi project to foster and strengthen effective Intra-ACP cooperation;
C. Recognizing the the long delay in the implementation of the project.
1. Remandates the Committee of Ambassadors to ensure the earliest implementation possible of the project and report to Council at its next session.
2. Mandates the Committee of Ambassadors to prepare a proposal for ACP funding of the project while simultaneously pursuing its funding by the European Union and other sources.
3. Requests the President
of the ACP Council to transmit this Resolution to the European counterpart
and the Commission.