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SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 70th SESSIONOF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERSHELD ON 22nd, 23rd AND 24th NOVEMBER 1999AT SANTO DOMINGO DOMINICAN REPUBLICACP/25/015/00 [Final] Santo Domingo, 25th November 1999held on 21 and 22nd June 2000 in Cotonou - Benin |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
OPENING CEREMONY
COUNCIL'S PROCEEDINGS
OPENING CEREMONY
The 70th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers was presided over by the Honourable Mr John HORNE, Minister of Trade, Industry and Consumer Affairs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, President-in-Office of the ACP Council of Ministers.
Before making his opening Statement, the President invited H.E. Mr Max PUIG, Secretary of State, National Authorising Officer for the Lomé Convention, of the Dominican Republic, to welcome the delegates. Responding to the invitation, Minister PUIG welcomed the delegates on behalf of the Government and people of the Dominican Republic and assured Council that everything would be done to make the delegates' stay a pleasant experience. He urged delegates to take advantage of their stay to enjoy the hospitality of the host and visit places of interest.
After the host Minister's statement of welcome, the President expressed his pleasure at being given the opportunity to chair Council's end of the Century session. On behalf of Council, he thanked the Government and people of the Dominican Republic for the warm welcome and the magnificent arrangements made for the ACP Sessions.
He recalled that 38 days before the beginning of the 3rd Millennium, the 70th Session was being held at a special moment in the calendar of the ACP Group namely:
- the 2nd ACP Summit due in a few days;
- the 3rd WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Seattle, USA.; and finally
- the 3rd ACP-EU Ministerial Negotiating Conference to be held in Brussels in December.
In the light of these events he invited the ACP Group to be pro-active in the impending discussions to be conducted by Council. The outcome of these discussions would help in shaping the future of the ACP Group.
The major items on that agenda included :
- the review of the ACP institutions;
- the negotiation of a successor agreement to the Lomé IV Convention;
- the election of a Secretary General;
- the financial situation of the Secretariat; and
-
the venue of the signing ceremony for the successor agreement to the current
Convention.
Given the crucial importance of
these items, the President invited delegates to fully participate in the
deliberations of Council.
COUNCIL'S PROCEEDINGS
1. Adoption of the agenda [ACP/25/021/99 Rev.2]
Council considered and adopted the draft agenda subject to items:
8(iii): Consideration of the draft Declaration (ACP/28/015/99 Rev.6, and
1. Financial situation of the Secretariat (ACP/45/040/99)
being considered by the joint Session of the ACP Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers in Charge of the Lomé Convention.
2. Communication from the President.
There was no communication from the President.
3. Appointment of a Rapporteur and Friends of the Rapporteur
In
accordance with the rules of procedure guiding the choice of a Rapporteur
when a Council Session is held in an ACP country, the Dominican Republic,
the host country, and regional representative of the Caribbean, was appointed
Rapporteur of the 70th Session of Council.
The
countries listed below were designated by the various regions to serve
as Friends of the Rapporteur.
Central Africa: RWANDA
East Africa: TANZANIA
Southern Africa: ZAMBIA
West Africa: GHANA
Pacific: SAMOA
4. Approval of the Rapporteur's Report of the 69th session of the ACP Council held in Brussels from 26th to 28th July 1999[ACP/25/022/99 Rev.1]
Following the presentation of the report by Ms Susan GORDON, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of her Minister, the substantive Rapporteur, Council commended the Rapporteur and the Friends of the Rapporteur for having produced a satisfactory report on its deliberations at the 69th Session held at Headquarters, Brussels in July. Council considered and adopted the report.
5. Consideration of the Committee of Ambassadors' report on activities since the 69th session
Having heard the introductory remarks by the Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Ambassadors, H.E. Mr Saliou ABOUDOU, Ambassador of Benin, Council held an exchange of views on the matters raised in the activity report and concluded on the subjects as indicated hereafter:
PART 1 : INTERNAL MATTERS
A. FINANCIAL MATTERS
i) Adoption of the Year 2000 Budget
Council noted that the Committee of Ambassadors was not yet in a position to present a Budget for the year 2000 and therefore adopted the recommendation of the Committee of Ambassadors authorizing the Secretary General to incur, for the year 2000, expenditure each month in an amount not exceeding one-twelfth of the 1999 budget until such time as the budget for 2000 was approved. Council called on the ACP Member States to provide funds accordingly.
(ii) External auditor's report on the 1998 accounts
Council approved the external auditor's report on the 1998 accounts and gave discharge to the authorizing officer.
(iii) Choice of an External Auditor for the 1999 Accounts
Council endorsed the Committee of Ambassadors' recommendation that the firm 'ARTHUR ANDERSEN' be appointed to audit the Secretariat's accounts for the 1999 financial year.
(iv) Financial Controller's 1998 annual report
Council took note of the Financial Controller's annual report, the Secretariat's responses thereon and the Committee of Ambassadors' recommendations.
(v) Review of the Scale of Contribution
Council was informed that the Secretariat had, in accordance with the decision on the review of the scale, adopted at the 69th Session, updated the figures on which the current scale of contributions is based and that the updated statistics and consequential adjustments in categorization would be applied to the year 2000 budget.
The Minister from the Dominican Republic expressed his surprise at and concern about his country's classification among the highest contributors to the Secretariat's budget, namely Nigeria and the Republic of South Africa.
In order to conclude the final part of the decision pertaining to the choice of a new scale, Council extended its mandate to the Secretary General to convene a meeting with the ACP Regional Experts, as appropriate, and to report to the next ordinary meeting of Council in the second half of 2000.
(vi) State of Contributions from 3 Member States, namely:
- Central African Republic:
Council endorsed the Committee's recommendation that the Central African Republic repay its debt between years 2000 and 2003 in accordance with the schedule set out in document ACP/45/032/99 Rev.1 and that in the interim the country be exempted from the application of sanctions. Council also waived the interest on Central African Republic's arrears as from 1st October 1999.
- Democratic Republic of Congo
Council noted that the Committee of Ambassadors had examined the Democratic Republic of Congo's request for reclassification on the scale of contributions. Council agreed that the new scale was intended to be applicable from the year 2000, but that the request for the cancellation of penalty interest would only be examined when that country proposed an appropriate rescheduling of all its arrears to date.
- Somalia
In view of the still precarious situation of Somalia, Council endorsed the Committee of Ambassadors' recommendation that the country be exempted from payment of contributions to the budget for the year 2000 and from the application of the sanctions which the arrears entail..
B. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
Council
took note of the report on the following administrative matters:
- gender as a criterion for recruitment
to the ACP Secretariat;
- report on the situation of 'Non-ACP Regime' staff in the Secretariat; and
- extension of the contracts of staff of the ACP Secretariat.
PART II : ACP-EU COOPERATION
TRADE AND CUSTOMS COOPERATION, AND DEVELOPMENT FINANCE COOPERATION
In his introductory remarks, the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors indicated that, because of time constraint, it had not been possible to submit reports on these two major areas of ACP-EU cooperation. All the available time had been devoted to the on-going negotiations.
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ACP PRESENCE IN WTO
Having heard the explanation of the reasons for the delay in the establishment of a formal ACP presence at the WTO meetings in Geneva, Council sought and obtained assurances that such a presence would be established in the year 2000. To take the matter forward, it was proposed that it be raised in the fringes of the Seattle Conference with the appropriate WTO authorities.
A. INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION
Council took note of the report on :
- follow-up matters; and
- the request by the current CDI Director to nominate a conciliator concerning the adjustment of his salary.
B. SYSMIN, MINING AND ENERGY
Council took note of the report on Sysmin, Mining and Energy.
PART III : INTRA-ACP, REGIONAL, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL COOPERATION
Request from the Association of ACP National Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Other Economic Operators
Ministers endorsed, the Association's proposal that Council request the EU Commission through the Directorate General for Development to respond favourably to the request for funding the Association's Network Dossier within the framework of Articles 138 and 164 of the Lomé IV bis Convention.
PART IV : INSTITUTIONAL MATTERS
Council took note of the report on Institutional matters
PART V : MATTERS RELATING TO THE JOINT ASSEMBLY
ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ACP ASSEMBLY OF PARLIAMENTARIANS
Council took note of the decision of the ACP members of the Joint Assembly not to press for the establishment of an ACP Assembly until the mechanisms for regional bodies of Parliamentarians have been put into place.
Council commended the Committee of Ambassadors for a well-prepared activity report.
6. Consideration of the report on the negotiations [ACP/00328/99]
a. NEGOTIATING GROUP 1 : CENTRAL NEGOTIATING GROUP [CT/TFN/GCN1 or ACP/GCN]
Hon. Mr John HORNE of St Vincent and the Grenadines, President of Council and Ministerial Spokesman for Group 1 presented the report which covered the following subjects :
- Essential elements;
- Good governance;
- Non-exclusion clause;
- Criteria for accession to the Convention;
- Equal access to education for ACP students in EU institution;
-
Duration of the future agreement (the Group proposed twenty years starting
in the year 2000).
After a full exchange of views
on the subject of Good Governance, on the basis of a draft text prepared
by the ACP negotiators, Council adopted an ACP Declaration, proposed by
a Ministerial Group comprising Cameroun, Gabon and Trinidad and Tobago. b. NEGOTIATING GROUP 2: PRIVATE
SECTOR AND OTHER DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES [ACP/00/0325/99]
Hon. Mr Justin N'DIORO of Cameroon, Ministerial Spokesman for Negotiating Group 2, presented a report which covered the following subjects:
Issues that had been settled:
- The general framework of support for development policies;
- Macroeconomic and structural reforms and policies;
- Sectoral policies and strategies;
- Gender issues;
- Youth-related issues;
- Cultural development;
- Environment and natural resources;
- Institutional development and capacity building;
- Regional cooperation and integration;
- A manual of sectoral policies and strategies.
Outstanding issues
- Investment guarantees;
- Return or restitution of cultural goods;
- Actors of the Partnership.
c. NEGOTIATING GROUP 3: ECONOMIC AND TRADE COOPERATION [ACP/00/0330/99]
Hon. A. HYLTON of Jamaica, Ministerial Spokesman for Group 3, presented a report which covered the following subjects:
(i) Objectives, Principles, Modalities and Procedures of ACP-EU Economic and Trade Cooperation [ACP/00/0339/99]
At a meeting held on 19 November 1999, the EU Troika and the ACP Ministerial Spokesman and two Vice Spokesmen examined the draft compromise text on the above subjects and arrived at a large measure of agreement. However, a number of issues still remained to be resolved. The outcome of the meeting is contained in the document captioned above.
(ii) The Waiver
In view of the expiry of the current Convention on 29 February 2000, it would be necessary for the ACP and EU to agree on the procedure to be followed in requesting for a waiver, and to ensure that the appropriate arrangements were made so that the waiver could be granted in a timely fashion. To this end, the ACP requested consultations in Seattle, but there was no agreement on this request because neither side could agree on the Draft Declaration, as proposed by the EU.
Council directed that the ACP Group seek advice, from the Geneva-based ACP Missions, on the declaration to be agreed to with the EU at the Seattle Conference.
(iii) Improved Market Access
There was divergence between the ACP and the EU on the ACP's request for improved access for all ACP products during the preparatory period.
In the ensuing exchange of views, Council heard an appeal on the special case of ACP rice.
(iv) Non-discrimination
Council insisted on the principle of free access for all ACP products and to that end it urged that ACP negotiators stand by the ACP negotiating mandate and the positions outlined in the ACP Trade Ministers' Declaration.
Other outstanding matters included:
- Rules of origin;
- Commodity Protocols;
- Commodities;
- Trade-related Issues; and
- Stabex and Sysmin.
d. NEGOTIATING GROUP 4: FINANCIAL COOPERATION [ACP/00/0310/99]
In the absence of the Ministerial Spokesman, H.E. Nana Oye Mansa YEBOAA I of Ghana, Ambassadorial Spokesperson, presented a report which covered the following subjects :
(i) Background
Under this item, the Spokesperson recalled the status of the negotiations as reported to Council last July and the agreement jointly reached by Ministerial representatives of both sides.
Since the July Council sessions, the ACP NAO, RAO and other actors of the civil society met from 20 to 22 September 1999 and also joint experts meetings and consultations between spokesmen from both sides had been held. However, as far as the results were concerned, the situation had remained the same since the last Council sessions owing to the fact that there had not been any joint meeting of Negotiating Group 4
The following matters were still outstanding :
- the scope of debt-relief required;
- the nature of support to be provided in the event of fluctuations in export earnings;
- ACP proposals to reserve specified amounts for STABEX and SYSMIN;
- EU proposal to enable the flexible transfer of funds between the various cooperation instruments during the life span of the Financial Protocol;
- The terms and conditions of equity participation/quasi-equity assistance;
- The terms and conditions for the provision of senior or ordinary loans according to market conditions;
- Guarantees for specific project-related undertaking by any ACP State for public sector investment;
- The nature of the proposed Investment Facility;
- The carry-over of net re-flows from one investment facility to another;
- The terms and conditions of EIB financed loans;
- Competition and preference (notification and rationalisation).
Discussion continued on:
- The assistance to be reserved for the private sector;
- Investment guarantees on which the parties agreed provided that it does not involve the creation of an agency;
- Regional programming;
-Annex IV: Management and executing agents, and
- Annex V: Other Provisions.
(i) Institutional support
- CDI: its mandate/field of intervention to be enlarged;
- CTA: develop and reinforce the Centre.
(ii) Annex III: Implementation Procedures
- Programming procedures (there is disagreement on the review period)
Following the exchange of views that ensued, Council urged that:
- The ACP make a strong statement at the 3rd Ministerial Negotiating Conference on the need to maintain and improve concessionary loans and seek a commitment on that matter from the EU side.
- The ACP should reflect on how it should position itself for a strategic intervention in the international context.
7. Preparations of the Joint Council session of the Ministers in charge of ACP Affairs and of Ministers of Foreign Affairs [ACP/25/019/99 Rev.2]
Council agreed to propose the draft agenda, document ACP/25/019/99 Rev.2 to the joint Session for its adoption.
8. Preparations for the Summit : Consideration of :
(i) the work programme of the Summit [ACP/20/14/99 Rev.4];
(ii) the agenda for the Summit [ACP/28/012/99 Rev.4];
(iii) the draft Declaration [ACP/28/015/99 Rev.6] to be considered at the joint session.
Following
the presentation of the documents captioned above by H.E. Mr J.R. GOULONGANA,
Ambassador of Gabon and the Chairman of the Ambassadorial Working Group
on the preparations for the Second Summit, Council took note of the drafts.
The draft Declaration [ACP/28/015/99 Rev.6] together with the other documents captioned above were considered and finalized by the joint session of the Ministers in charge of ACP Affairs and of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
9. Scale of contributions [ACP/45/039/99]
In the context of the consideration of the Committee of Ambassadors' activity report (see Part I, item 5v above), Council considered this item and it decided to extend its mandate to the Secretary-General on a new regime.
10. Financial contribution of the Secretariat [ACP/45/040/99].
The item was remitted to the joint Council session of Ministers in charge of ACP affairs and Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
11. Consideration of the report on Decision No.4 of the 1st ACP Summit [ACP/41/065/99 Rev 2].
Council considered the report contained in document ACP/41/065/99 Rev.2 including recommendations and an organisational chart and the conclusion of the Committee of Ambassadors on the report as follows:
The Committee of Ambassadors recommends that Council adopt the report on Decision No. 4 of the Libreville Summit (doc. ACP/41/065/99 Rev.2), subject to the following :
- that, in view of the special status of the Sugar Protocol, a Special consultation Group on Sugar, reporting directly to the Committee of Ambassadors should be set up ; and,
- that, in the context of the recommendation at paragraph 116 (iii) of the report, the Committee of Ambassadors consider and decide on the proposals to be prepared by the Secretary General on the other Secretariat posts and their job descriptions, specifically with respect to the details of the substructure and financial implications.
Having heard the introductory remarks by H.E. Mr Sasara Chasala GEORGE, Ambassador of Botswana and Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors' Working Group on Decision N°4 of the 1st ACP Summit, Council held an extensive exchange of views at the close of which, bearing in mind the conclusion of the discussion of the Committee of Ambassadors on the subject, the Ministers approved the recommendations in the Report on the implementation of the Decision No.4 [ACP/41/065/99 Rev.2] and the top management posts of the Secretary General and 3 Assistant Secretaries General.
Further, Council mandated the Committee of Ambassadors :
- to consider and decide on the proposals to be prepared by the Secretary General regarding the substructures posts and the job descriptions for the other staff;
- to examine the financial and other implications of the new structure and report to Council at its next session; and
- to consider recommendations for refinement of any other relevant areas as may be appropriate.
Finally, Council directed the Committee of Ambassadors to set up a consultations Group on Sugar, reporting directly to the Committee, in view of the special status of the Sugar Protocol.
12. Election of the ACP Secretary General
This point was considered together with item 13.
13. Committee of Ambassadors' recommendations regarding the following appointments :
(i) the ACP Deputy Secretary General
(ii) the Deputy Director of the CDI
(iii) the Director of the CTA
Introducing the item, the Secretary General indicated that on the expiry of the deadline set for reception of candidatures the following applications had been registered:
M. Afamasaga FA'AMATALA TOLE'AFOA, of Samoa, Pacific region
M. Jean-Robert GOULONGANA of Gabon, Central Africa region
M. Pascal GAYAMA of Congo, Central African region
The Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors stressed the need to elect a Secretary General in the shortest possible time, in order :
(a) to avoid a legal vacuum at the top management level of the Secretariat at the expiry of the mandate of the incumbent;
(b) to conform with the rules of the staff regulations and the Georgetown Agreement;
He added that consultations had taken place and at the meeting of the Committee of Ambassadors in Santo Domingo prior to Council Session, consensus had been reached. However, the said consensus was rejected as not reflecting events that took place after it had been read out and made available to delegates.
Having heard the Chairman's introductory remarks and having rejected the reported consensus, Council decided to consider items 12 and 13 together so as to facilitate taking a decision on the distribution of those senior posts among the various ACP regions. To that end, Council agreed that the Central African and Pacific regions' representatives should hold consultations which resulted in a consensus on the following package:
(i) Mr. Jean Robert GOULONGANA (Gabon) was appointed Secretary General of the ACP Group for a period of 5 years, with effect from 1 March 2000;
(ii) The post of Director of the CTA was allocated to the Caribbean Region for a period of 5 years with effect from 1 March 2000;
(iii) A post of Assistant Secretary-General was allocated to the Pacific Region ;
(iv) The Committee of Ambassadors was requested to ensure that the consultations with a view to restructuring the CDI are concluded as soon as possible to enable the post falling to the ACP Group to be advertised and filled by 1 March 2000;
(v) The remaining positions were to be filled on the basis of currently enshrined principles of geographic distribution;
(vi) To accommodate a consistent concern expressed in the consultations to the effect that the Pacific region had never held the post of Secretary-General of the ACP or indeed of any senior position in the Secretariat, Council agreed that, upon termination of the 5 year term of the Secretary General elect, the post of a Secretary General be allocated to the Pacific region.
Council warmly welcomed this consensus by acclamation.
Taking the floor, Hon. Mr William J. HARRINGTON, the Ministers from Zambia, thanked Council for giving the current Secretary General, Mr. N'gandu Peter MAGANDE, a Zambian National, the opportunity to serve the ACP at that top position. During his term of Office, he had also been given the opportunity to organise two ACP Summits. The Zambian Minister also welcomed the election of the new Secretary General and pledged his country's support and cooperation to ensure his success.
For his part, the Minister from Gabon, first of all thanked the Central Africa Region for supporting the candidature of a Gabonese to the post of Secretary General and the Pacific region for bowing out of the race to facilitate a consensus. He then expressed deep gratitude to the entire ACP Group for entrusting its confidence in the Gabonese candidate in electing him to serve as Secretary General of the ACP Group for a 5 - year term beginning 1st March 2000.
14. Venue of the signing ceremony of the successor Agreement to the Lomé IV Convention
Following the announcement by the Secretary General that Benin, Fiji and Togo had offered to host the signing ceremony of the successor Agreement, Council held a preliminary exchange of views at the close of which it decided that further consultations be held on the matter.
15. Joint Assembly matters :
a) 29th session (Nassau, The Bahamas, 11-14 October 1999);
b) report on the proposed ACP Assembly [ACP/23/023/99 Rev.2].
Council took note that the subject of the proposed ACP Assembly was being dealt with by the ACP members of the Joint Assembly.
16. Appointment of the members of the Incoming Ministerial Bureau :[ref.doc. ACP/549/79 Rev.36].
The countries listed below were designated by their respective regions to serve on the new Council Bureau due to take up office as from 1st May 2000 :
Central Africa: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC President
East Africa: SUDAN Member
Southern Africa: ZAMBIA Member
West Africa: GAMBIA Member
Caribbean: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Member
Pacific: SAMOA Member
17. Outcome of the 70th ACP Council session : Adoption of Decisions and Resolutions
Council adopted the decisions and resolutions listed below :
A : DECISIONS
Decision NO 1/LXX/99: The ACP General Secretariat's 2000 Budget
Decision NO 2/LXX/99: Appointment of External Auditor
Decision NO 3/LXX/99: External Auditor's Report for 1998
Decision NO 4/LXX/99: Contributions owed by Central African Republic
Decision NO 5/LXX/99: Implementation of Decision 4 of the 1st ACP Summit
Decision NO 6/LXX/99: Secretariat's Financial Situation
Decision NO 7/LXX/99: Appointment of Secretary- General of the ACP Group
Decision NO 8/LXX/99: On the Allocation of the Post of Director of the CTA to the Caribbean Region
Decision NO 9/LXX/99: On the Allocation of the Post of Assistant Secretary-General to the Pacific Region
Decision NO 10/LXX/99: On the CDI.
B. RESOLUTIONS
- Congo Brazzaville
18. Date and Venue of :
a. 71st session of ACP Council of Ministers
The date and venue of the 71st ACP session would be decided on a later date.
b. the 25th ACP-EU (ordinary) session
The
25th ACP-EU ordinary session would take place in Brussels before
the ACP-EU Ministerial Negotiating Conference scheduled for February 2000.
19. Any other business
The Minister from the Dominican Republic, Hon. Max PUIG, reminded delegates that they were cordially invited to an art exhibition organised by CARIFORUM
Concluding remarks
In his concluding remarks, the President expressed on behalf of Council, gratitude to the host country for providing adequate facilities for holding Council session.
He also expressed satisfaction at the successful, amicable and timely conclusion of the process of electing a new Secretary General.
Finally,
the President commended the Committee of Ambassadors, assisted by the Secretariat,
for the great amount of work it accomplished since Council's previous session.
To that end, he recalled that the Ambassadors simultaneously pursued the
negotiations with the EC Commission and the preparation of the Second ACP
Summit of Heads of State and Government. The success of Council's deliberations
and the anticipated success of the Summit could be attributed in a large
measure to the Committee's efforts.