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, 1200 Brussels, Belgium                            Avenue Georges Henri, 451, 1200 Bruxelles, Belgique
Tel: 32 2 743 06 00	email: info@acp.int	Fax: +32 2 735 55 73

Amendments:
Adopted by 391D0400 (OJ L 229 17.08.91 p.1)
See 293D1113(01) (OJ L 280 13.11.93 p.26)
Amended by 295A0531(01) (OJ L 120 31.05.95 p.38)
Completed by 295A1230(01) (OJ L 317 30.12.95 p.3)
See 295D1025(02) (OJ L 255 25.10.95 p.17)
Amended by 295D1230(08) (OJ L 327 30.12.95 p.31)
See 295D1230(09) (OJ L 327 30.12.95 p.32)
Adopted by 395D0185 (OJ L 120 31.05.95 p.37)
Derogation in 296D0924(01) (OJ L 243 24.09.96 p.38)
Derogation in 296D0924(02) (OJ L 243 24.09.96 p.41)
Amended by 297A0811(01) (OJ L 220 11.08.97 p.2)
Amended by 297A1021(01) (OJ L 287 21.10.97 p.31)
Derogation in 297D0405(02) (OJ L 091 05.04.97 p.31)
Amended by 297D0811(02) (OJ L 220 11.08.97 p.6)
Derogation in 297D1008(01) (OJ L 275 08.10.97 p.5)
Derogation in 297D1206(01) (OJ L 335 06.12.97 p.19)
Amended by 298A0529(01) (OJ L 156 29.05.98 p.3)
Derogation in 298D1110(01) (OJ L 299 10.11.98 p.27)
Derogation in 299D0120(01) (OJ L 015 20.01.99 p.6)
Derogation in 299D0120(02) (OJ L 015 20.01.99 p.8)
Derogation in 299D0505(01) (OJ L 117 05.05.99 p.49)
Derogation in 299D0709(01) (OJ L 174 09.07.99 p.21)
Implemented by 399D0214 (OJ L 075 20.03.99 p.32)
 
 

Text:

FOURTH ACP-EEC CONVENTION signed at Lomé on 15 December 1989
CONTENTS
Page
>TABLE POSITION>
PREAMBLE
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF DENMARK,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC,
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SPAIN,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC,
THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC,
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND DUKE OF LUXEMBOURG,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND,
Contracting Parties to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, hereinafter referred to as 'the Community`, the States of the Community being hereinafter referred to as 'Member States`,
and
THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
of the one part, and
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA,
THE HEAD OF STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS,
THE HEAD OF STATE OF BARBADOS,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF BELIZE,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BÉNIN,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S FRONT, HEAD OF THE STATE,
HEAD OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BURKINA FASO,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF THE COMOROS,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE CÔTE D'IVOIRE,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF DJIBOUTI,
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE GABONESE REPUBLIC,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA,
THE HEAD OF STATE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE PROVISIONAL NATIONAL
DEFENCE COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF GRENADA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUINEA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE OF GUINEA-BISSAU,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE COOPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HAÏTI,
THE HEAD OF STATE OF JAMAICA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI,
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF MADAGASCAR,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALI,
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEE FOR NATIONAL SAFETY,
HEAD OF STATE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF MAURITANIA,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF MAURITIUS,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL,
HEAD OF STATE OF NIGER,
THE HEAD OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE RWANDESE REPUBLIC,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF SAINT LUCIA,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES,
THE HEAD OF STATE OF WESTERN SAMOA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOMALI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME,
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHAD,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE TOGOLESE REPUBLIC,
HIS MAJESTY KING TAUFA'AHAU TUPOU IV OF TONGA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF TUVALU,
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF VANUATU,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAIRE,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA,
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE,
WHOSE STATES ARE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS 'ACP STATES`,
of the other part,
HAVING REGARD to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, on the one hand, and the Georgetown Agreement constituting the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, on the other;
ANXIOUS to reinforce, on the basis of complete equality between partners and in their mutual interest, close and continuing cooperation in a spirit of international solidarity;
WISHING to demonstrate their common desire to maintain and develop the friendly relations existing between their countries, in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations;
REAFFIRMING their adherence to the principles of the said Charter and their faith in fundamental human rights, in all aspects of human dignity and in the worth of the human person, as the central agent and beneficiary of development, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations, large and small;
RECALLING the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; recognizing the need to respect and guarantee civil and political rights and to strive to bring about full enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights;
WELCOMING the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of the Council of Europe, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the American Covention on Human Rights as positive regional contributions to the respect of human rights in the Community and in the ACP States;
RESOLVED to step up their common efforts to contribute towards international cooperation and to the solution of international problems of economic, social, intellectual and humanitarian nature, in conformity with the aspirations of the international community towards the establishment of a new, more just and more balanced world order;
RESOLVED to make, through their cooperation, a significant contribution to the economic, social and cultural development of the ACP States and to the greater well-being of their populations;
HAVE DECIDED to conclude this Convention and to this end have designated as their Plenipotentiaries:
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS:
André GEENS,
Minister for Development Cooperation;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF DENMARK:
Jacob RYTTER,
Permanent Representative to the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY:
Irmgard ADAM-SCHWAETZER,
Deputy Minister, Ministry for Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC:
Yannis POTTAKIS,
Deputy Minister, Ministry for Foreign Affairs;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF SPAIN:
Pedro SOLBES,
State Secretary for the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC:
Jacques PELLETIER,
Minister for Cooperation and Development;
THE PRESIDENT OF IRELAND:
Seán CALLEARY, TD,
Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs,
responsible for Development Aid;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC:
Claudio LENOCI,
Under-Secretary of State, Ministry for Foreign Affairs;
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE GRAND DUKE OF LUXEMBOURG:
Joseph WEYLAND,
Permanent Representative to the European Communities;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE NETHERLANDS:
S. H. BLOMBERGEN,
Chargé d'Affaires to Accra;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC:
José Manuel DURÃO BARROSO,
State Secretary, Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND NORTHERN IRELAND:
Lord REAY,
Government Whip;
THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES:
Michel ROCARD,
Prime Minister of the French Republic,
President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities;
Manuel MARÍN,
Vice-President of the Commission of the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA:
Emilio José de CARVALHO GUERRA,
Head of the Mission of the People's Republic of Angola to the European Communities;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA:
James THOMAS,
High Commissioner of Antigua and Barbuda;
THE HEAD OF STATE OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS:
Patricia Elaine Joan RODGERS,
Head of the Mission of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas;
THE HEAD OF STATE OF BARBADOS:
Edward Evelyn GREAVES,
Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF BELIZE:
Sir Edney CAIN,
High Commissioner to the United Kingdom;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BENIN:
Amos ELEGBE,
Minister for Trade, Craft Trades and Tourism;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA:
Archibald M. MOGWE
Minister of Mineral Resources and Water Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S FRONT, HEAD OF STATE,
HEAD OF THE GOVERNMENT OF BURKINA FASO:
Pascal ZAGRE,
Minister for Planning and Cooperation;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BURUNDI:
D. R. Salvator SAHINGUVU,
State Secretary to the Prime Minister responsible for Planning;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON:
Elisabeth TANKEU,
Minister for Planning and Regional Development;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE:
Adao ROCHA,
Minister for Industry and Energy;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC:
Thierry INGABA,
State Secretary for Planning and International Cooperation;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE ISLAMIC FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF THE COMOROS:
Ali MLAHAILI,
Ambassador to the French Republic;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO:
Pierre MOUSSA,
Minister responsible for Planning and Economic Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE COTE D'IVOIRE:
Moise Koffi KOUMOUE,
Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF DJIBOUTI:
Ahmed IBRAHIM ABDI,
Minister of Labour and Social Security;
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF DOMINICA:
Charles Angelo SAVARIN,
Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC:
Joaquín RICARDO,
Minister of Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA:
Aklilu AFEWORK,
Minister,
Head of the Office of the State Committee for Foreign Economic Relations;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI:
Kaliopate TAVOLA,
Head of the Mission of Fiji to the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE GABONESE REPUBLIC:
Pascal NZE,
Minister for Planning, Development and Economic Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA:
Saihou S. SABALLY,
Minister of Finance and Trade;
THE HEAD OF STATE AND CHAIRMAN OF THE PROVISIONAL NATIONAL
DEFENCE COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA:
Dr KWESI BOTCHWEY, PNDC,
Secretary for Finance and Economic Planning;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF GRENADA:
Denneth Matthew MODESTE,
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry for External Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUINEA:
Ibrahim SYLLA,
Minister for Planning and International Cooperation;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE OF GUINEA-BISSAU:
Aristides MENEZES,
State Secretary, Ministry for International Cooperation;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF EQUATORIAL GUINEA:
Alejandro Evuna OWONO,
Minister of State entrusted with Missions to the Presidency of the Republic;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE COOPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA:
James H. E. MATHESON,
Ambassador Extraordinary,
Head of the Mission of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HAÏTI:
Yvon PERRIER,
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cults;
THE HEAD OF STATE OF JAMAICA:
Leslie Armon WILSON,
Ambassador,
Head of the Mission of Jamaica to the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA:
Dr Zacharia T. ONYONKA, MP,
Minister for Planning and National Development;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI:
Michael T. SOMARE,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Papua New Guinea;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF LESOTHO:
Dr M. M. SEFALI,
Minister of Planning, Economic and Manpower Development;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA:
Dr Elijah TAYLOR,
Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF MADAGASCAR:
Georges Yvan SOLOFOSON,
Minister for Trade;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI:
R. W. CHIRWA, MP,
Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALI:
Dr N'Golo TRAORE,
Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation;
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEE FOR NATIONAL SAFETY,
HEAD OF STATE OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF MAURITANIA,
Mohamed Lemine Ould N'DIAYANE,
Lieutenant-Colonel,
Member and Permanent Secretary of the Military Committee for National Safety;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF MAURITIUS:
Murlidass DULLOO,
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE:
Pascoal Manuel MOCUMBI,
Minister for Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME MILITARY COUNCIL,
HEAD OF STATE OF NIGER:
Yacouba SANDI,
State Secretary in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, responsible for Cooperation;
THE HEAD OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA:
Dr Chu S. P. OKONGWU,
Minister of Finance and Economic Development;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA:
Abbey KAFUMBE-MUKASA,
Deputy Minister of Finance;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
Michael T. SOMARE, CH,
Minister for Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE RWANDESE REPUBLIC:
Aloys NSEKALIJE,
Colonel,
Minister for Industry and Craft Trades;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS:
Edwin LAURENT,
Minister Counsellor of the High Commission of Eastern Caribbean States in London;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF SAINT LUCIA:
Edwin LAURENT,
Minister Counsellor of the High Commission of Eastern Caribbean States in London;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES:
Edwin LAURENT,
Minister Counsellor of the High Commission of Eastern Caribbean States in London;
THE HEAD OF STATE OF WESTERN SAMOA:
Amua L. IOANE,
High Commissioner;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE:
Carlos FERREIRA,
Minister for Social Infrastructure and the Environment;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL:
Seydina Oumar SY,
Minister for Trade;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES:
Claude MOREL,
Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Seychelles Embassy in Paris;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE:
Leonard S. FOFANAH,
Minister of State,
Ministry of National Development and Economic Planning;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS:
Lord REAY,
Government Whip;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOMALI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC:
Ali HASSAN ALI,
Ambassador,
Head of the Mission of the Somali Democratic Republic to the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN:
Dr SAYED ALI ZAKI,
Minister of Finance and Economic Planning;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME:
Donald Aloysius MACLEOD,
Ambassador Extraordinary,
Head of the Mission of the Republic of Suriname to the European Communities;
HIS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND:
NKOMENI Douglas NTIWANE,
Senator,
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA:
Joseph A. T. MUWOWO,
Minister Plenipotentiary,
Chargé d'affaires a.i. of the Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania to the European Communities;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHAD:
Ibni Oumar Mahamat SALEH,
Minister for Planning and Cooperation;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE TOGOLESE REPUBLIC:
Barry Moussa BARQUE,
Minister for Planning and Mining;
HIS MAJESTY KING TAUFA'AHAU TUPOU IV OF TONGA:
His Royal Highness Crown Prince TUPOUTO'A,
Minister for Foreign Affairs;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO:
Dr Sahadeo BASDEO,
Senator,
Minister of External Affairs and International Trade;
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF TUVALU:
Peter FEIST,
Honorary Consul to the Federal Republic of Germany;
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF VANUATU:
Harold Colin QUALAO,
Minister of Trade, Commerce, Cooperatives, Industry and Energy;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAIRE:
MOBUTU NYIWA,
State Commissioner for International Cooperation;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA:
RABBISON MAFESHI CHONGO, M. P.,
Minister of Commerce and Industry;
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE:
Dr O. M. MUNYARADZI,
Minister of Trade and Commerce;
WHO, having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
PART ONE
GENERAL PROVISIONS OF ACP-EEC COOPERATION
Chapter 1 Objectives and principles of cooperation
Article 1
The Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the ACP States, of the other part (hereinafter referred to as the 'Contracting Parties`), hereby conclude this cooperation Convention in order to promote and expedite the economic, cultural and social development of the ACP States and to consolidate and diversify their relations in a spirit of solidarity and mutual interest.
The Contracting Parties thereby affirm their undertaking to continue, strengthen and render more effective the system of cooperation established under the first, second and third ACP-EEC Conventions and confirm the special character of their relations, based on their reciprocal interest, and the specific nature of their cooperation.
The Contracting Parties hereby express their resolve to intensify their effort to create, with a view to a more just and balanced international economic order, a model for relations between developed and developing states and to work together to affirm in the international context the principles underlying their cooperation.
Article 2
ACP-EEC cooperation, underpinned by a legally binding system and the existence of joint institutions, shall be exercised on the basis of the following fundamental principles:
- equality between partners, respect for their sovereignty, mutual interest and interdependence,
-the right of each State to determine its own political, social, cultural and economic policy options,
-security of their relations based on the acquis of their system of cooperation.
Article 3
The ACP States shall determine the development principles, strategies and models for their economies and societies in all sovereignty.
Article 4
Support shall be provided in ACP-EEC cooperation for the ACP States' efforts to achieve comprehensive self-reliant and self-sustained development based on their cultural and social values, their human capacities, their natural resources and their economic potential in order to promote the ACP States' social, cultural and economic progress and the well-being of their populations through the satisfaction of their basic needs, the recognition of the role of women and the enhancement of people's capacities, with respect for their dignity.
Such development shall be based on a sustainable balance between its economic objectives, the rational management of the environment and the enhancement of natural and human resources.
Article 5
1. Cooperation shall be directed towards development centred on man, the main protagonist and beneficiary of development, which thus entails respect for and promotion of all human rights. Cooperation operations shall thus be conceived in accordance with the positive approach, where respect for human rights is recognized as a basic factor of real development and where cooperation is conceived as a contribution to the promotion of these rights.
In this context development policy and cooperation are closely linked with the respect for and enjoyment of fundamental human rights. The role and potential of initiatives taken by individuals and groups shall also be recognized and fostered in order to achieve in practice real participation of the population in the development process in accordance with Article 13.
2. Hence the Parties reiterate their deep attachment to human dignity and human rights, which are legitimate aspirations of individuals and peoples. The rights in question are all human rights, the various categories thereof being indivisible and inter-related, each having its own legitimacy: non-discriminatory treatment; fundamental human rights; civil and political rights; economic, social and cultural rights.
Every individual shall have the right, in his own country or in a host country, to respect for his dignity and protection by the law.
ACP-EEC cooperation shall help abolish the obstacles preventing individuals and peoples from actually enjoying to the full their economic, social and cultural rights and this must be achieved through the development which is essential to their dignity, their well-being and their self-fulfilment. To this end, the Parties shall strive, jointly or each in its own sphere of responsibility, to help eliminate the causes of situations of misery unworthy of the human condition and of deep-rooted economic and social inequalities.
The Contracting Parties hereby reaffirm their existing obligations and commitment in international law to strive to eliminate all forms of discrimination based on ethnic group, origin, race, nationality, colour, sex, language, religion or any other situation. This commitment applies more particularly to any situation in the ACP States or in the Community that may adversely affect the pursuit of the objectives of the Convention, and to the system of apartheid, having regard also to its destabilizing effects on the outside. The Member States (and/or, where appropriate, the Community itself) and the ACP States will continue to ensure, through the legal or administrative measures which they have or will have adopted, that migrant workers, students and other foreign nationals legally within their territory are not subjected to discrimination on the basis of racial, religious, cultural or social differences, notably in respect of housing, education, health care, other social services and employment.
3. At the request of the ACP States, financial resources may be allocated, in accordance with the rules governing development finance cooperation, to the promotion of human rights in the ACP States through specific schemes, public or private, that would be decided, particularly in the legal sphere, in consultation with bodies of internationally recognized competence in the field. Resources may also be given to support the establishment of structures to promote human rights. Priority shall be given to schemes of regional scope.
Article 6
1. With a view to attaining more balanced and self-reliant economic development in the ACP States, special efforts shall be made under this Convention to promote rural development, food security for the people, rational management of natural resources, and the preservation, revival and strengthening of agricultural production potential in the ACP States.
2. The Contracting Parties recognize that priority must be given to environmental protection and the conservation of natural resources, which are essential conditions for sustainable and balanced development from both the economic and human viewpoints.
Article 7
The Community and the ACP States shall give special importance and high priority to regional cooperation and integration. In this context, the Convention shall offer effective support for the ACP States' efforts to organize themselves into regional groupings and to step up their cooperation at regional and inter-regional level with a view to promoting a new, more just and more balanced economic order.
Article 8
The Contracting Parties acknowledge the need to accord special treatment to the least-developed ACP States and to take account of the specific difficulties confronting the landlocked and island ACP States. They shall pay special attention to improving the living conditions of the poorest sections of the population.
Cooperation shall comprise, inter alia, special treatment when determining the volume of financial resources and the conditions attached thereto in order to enable the least-developed ACP States to overcome structural and other obstacles to their development.
For the landlocked and island ACP States, cooperation shall be aimed at devising and encouraging specific operations to deal with development problems caused by their geographical situations.
Article 9
In order to step up the effectiveness of the instruments of this Convention, the Contracting Parties shall adopt, in the framework of their respective responsibilities, guidelines, priorities and measures conducive to attaining the objectives set out in this Convention and agree to pursue, in accordance with the principles set out in Article 2, the dialogue within joint institutions and in the coordinated implementation of development finance cooperation and the other cooperation instruments.
Article 10
The Contracting Parties shall, each as far as it is concerned in the framework of this Convention, take all appropriate measures, whether general or particular, to ensure the fulfilment of the obligations arising from this Convention and to facilitate the pursuit of its objectives. They shall refrain from any measures liable to jeopardize the attainment of the objectives of this Convention.
Article 11
Within the scope of their respective responsibilities, the institutions of this Convention shall examine periodically the results of the application thereof, provide any necessary impetus and take any relevant decision or measure for the attainment of its objectives.
Any question that might directly hamper the effective attainment of the objectives of this Convention may be raised in the context of the institutions.
Consultations shall take place within the Council of Ministers at the request of either Contracting Party in cases provided for in this Convention or where difficulties arise with the application or interpretation thereof.
Article 12
Where the Community intends, in the exercise of its powers, to take a measure which might affect the interests of the ACP States as far as this Convention's objectives are concerned, it shall inform in good time the said States of its intentions. Towards this end, the Commission shall communicate regularly to the Secretariat of the ACP States any proposals for such measures. Where necessary, a request for information may also take place on the initiative of the ACP States.
At their request, consultations shall be held in good time so that account may be taken of their concerns as to the impact of those measures before any final decision is made.
After such consultations have taken place, the ACP States shall also be provided with adequate information on the entry into force of such decisions, in advance whenever possible.
Chapter 2 Objectives and guidelines of the Convention in the main areas of cooperation
Article 13
Cooperation shall be aimed at supporting development in the ACP States, a process centred on man himself and rooted in each people's culture. It shall back up the policies and measures adopted by those States to enhance their human resources, increase their own creative capacities and promote their cultural identities. Cooperation shall also encourage participation by the population in the design and execution of development operations.
Account shall be taken, in the various fields of cooperation, and at all the different stages of the operations executed, of the cultural dimension and social implications of such operations and of the need for both men and women to participate and benefit on equal terms.
Article 14
Cooperation shall entail mutual responsibility for preservation of the natural heritage. In particular, it shall attach special importance to environmental protection and the preservation and restoration of natural equilibria in the ACP States. Cooperation schemes in all areas shall therefore be designed to make the objectives of economic growth compatible with development that respects natural equilibria and brings about lasting results in the service of man.
In the framework of efforts to protect the environment and restore natural blances, cooperation shall help promote specific operations concerning the conservation of natural resources, renewable and non-renewable, the protection of ecosystems and the control of drought, desertification and deforestation; other operations on specific themes shall also be undertaken (notably locust control, the protection and utilization of water resources, the preservation of tropical forests and biological diversity, the promotion of a better balance between urban and rural areas, and the urban environment).
Article 15
Agricultural cooperation shall be aimed at the pursuit of food self-sufficiency and food security in the ACP States, developing and organizing their productive systems, improving the living standards and conditions and the life-styles of the rural population and achieving the balanced development of rural areas.
Operations in this field shall be designed and executed to support the agricultural and food policies or strategies adopted by the ACP States.
Article 16
Cooperation in the field of mining and energy shall be directed at promoting and expediting, in the mutual interest, diversified economic development, deriving full benefit from the ACP States' human potential and natural resources, and at fostering better integration of these and other sectors and their complementarity with the rest of the economy.
Cooperation shall be aimed at creating and consolidating the cultural, social and economic environment and the infrastructure required to achieve that objective.
Support shall be provided for the ACP States' efforts to devise and implement energy policies suited to their situation, notably the gradual reduction of the dependence of the majority of them on imported petroleum products and the development of new and renewable sources of energy.
Cooperation shall be aimed at encouraging improved exploitation of energy and mining resources by taking account of the energy component in the development of the different economic and social sectors and thus helping to improve living conditions and the environment, leading to the better conservation of biomass resources, particularly fuelwood.
Article 17
The Community and the ACP States acknowledge that industrialization is a driving force - complementary to agricultural and rural development - in promoting the economic transformation of the ACP States in order to achieve self-sustained growth and balanced and diversified development. Industrial development is needed to enhance the productivity of the ACP economies so that they can meet basic human needs and step up the competitive participation of the ACP States in world trade by way of selling more value-added products.
Article 18
Given the extreme dependence of the economies of the vast majority of ACP States on their export of commodities, the Contracting Parties agree to pay particular attention to their cooperation in this sector with a view to supporting ACP States' policies or strategies designed:
- on the one hand, to foster diversification, both horizontal and vertical, of the ACP economies, in particular through the development of processing, marketing, distribution and transport (PMDT), and
-on the other hand, to improve the competitiveness of the ACP States' commodities on world markets through the reorganization and rationalization of their production, marketing and distribution activities.
Article 19
The aim of cooperation in fisheries shall be to help the ACP States to develop their fishery resources in order to expand production for domestic consumption as part of their efforts to achieve increased food security and increase production for export. Such cooperation shall be designed to serve the mutual interests of the Parties, in accordance with their fishery policies.
Chapter 3 Widening participation in cooperation activities
Article 20
In accordance with Articles 2, 3 and 13 and in order to encourage all parties from the ACP States and the Community which are in a position to contribute to the autonomous development of the ACP States to put forward and implement initiatives, cooperation shall also support, within limits laid down by the ACP States concerned, development operations put forward by economic, social and cultural organizations in the framework of decentralized cooperation, in particular where they combine the efforts and resources of organizations from the ACP States and their counterparts from the Community. This form of cooperation shall be aimed in particular at making the capabilities, original operating methods and resources of such parties available to the development of the ACP States.
The parties referred to in this Article are decentralized public authorities, rural and village groupings, cooperatives, firms, trade unions, teaching and research centres, non-governmental development organizations, various associations and all groups and parties which are able and wish to make their own spontaneous and original contribution to the development of ACP States.
Article 21
Cooperation shall encourage and support the initiatives of the ACP parties referred to in Article 20, provided they correspond with the priorities, guidelines and development methods adopted by the ACP States. In this framework, cooperation shall support either the independent activities of ACP parties or the activities of ACP parties which are combined with support from similar parties from the Community which make their capabilities, experience, technological and organizational capacities or financial resources available to them.
Cooperation shall encourage parties from the ACP States and the Community to provide supplementary financial and technical resources for the development effort. Cooperation may provide decentralized cooperation operations with financial and/or technical support drawn from the resources of the Convention under the conditions laid down in Article 22.
This form of cooperation shall be organized in accordance with the role and the prerogatives of the public authorities of the ACP States.
Article 22
Decentralized cooperation operations may be supported through the instruments of development finance cooperation, with the approval of the ACP States concerned, preferably from the programming stage, of the principle of and the conditions for providing support for this form of copperation. Such support shall be provided to the extent to which it is necessary for the successful implementation of the proposed operations provided the usefulness of the latter has been recognized and in accordance with the provisions for development finance cooperation. Projects under this form of cooperation may be linked, or not, with programmes in the concentration sectors of the indicative programmes with a priority for those linked to the concentration sectors.
Chapter 4 Principles governing the instruments of cooperation Article 23
In order to contribute towards achieving the aims of this Convention, the Contracting Parties shall deploy cooperation instruments that correspond to the principles of solidarity and mutual interest, adapted to the economic, cultural and social situation in the ACP States and in the Community and to developments in their international environment.
These instruments shall be directed mainly, by strengthening the established mechanisms and systems, at:
- increasing trade between the Parties,
-supporting the ACP States' efforts to achieve self-reliant development by stepping up their capacity to innovate and to adapt and transform technology,
-supporting the ACP States' structural adjustment efforts and thus contributing to the attenuation of the debt burden,
-helping the ACP States to gain access to the capital markets and encouraging direct private European investment to contribute towards the development of the ACP States,
- remedying the instability of export earnings from the ACP States' agricultural commodities and helping those countries to cope with serious disruptions affecting their mining industries.
Article 24
In order to promote and diversify trade between the Contracting Parties, the Community and the ACP States are agreed on:
- general trade provisions,
-special arrangements for Community import of certain ACP products,
-arrangements to promote the development of the ACP States' trade and services, including tourism,
-a system of reciprocal information and consultation designed to help apply the trade cooperation provisions of this Convention effectively.
Article 25
The aim of the general trade arrangements, which are based on the Contracting Parties' international obligations, shall be to provide a firm and solid foundation for trade cooperation between the ACP States and the Community.
They shall be based on the principle of free access to the Community market for products originating in the ACP States, with special provisions for agricultural products and a safeguard clause.
In view of the ACP States' present development needs, the arrangements shall not comprise any element of reciprocity for those States as regards free access.
They shall also be based on the principle of non-discrimination by the ACP States between the Member States and the according to the Community of treatment no less favourable than the most-favoured-nation treatment.
Article 26
The Community shall contribute towards the ACP States' own development efforts by providing adequate financial resources and appropriate technical assistance aimed at stepping up those States' capacities for self-reliant and integrated economic, social and cultural development and also at helping to raise their populations' standard of living and well-being, and promote and mobilize resources in support of sustainable, effective and growth-oriented structural adjustment programmes.
Such contributions shall be made on a more predictable and continuous basis. They shall be provided at very highly concessional terms. Particular account shall be taken of the situation of the least-developed ACP States.
Article 27
The Contracting Parties agree to facilitate greater, more stable flows of resources from the private sector to the ACP States by taking measures to improve the access of ACP States to capital markets and to encourage European private investment in ACP States.
The Contracting Parties underline the need to promote, protect, finance and support investment and to provide equitable and stable conditions for the treatment of such investment.
Article 28
The Contracting Parties agree to confirm the importance of the system for the stabilization of export earnings, as well as of intensifying the process of consultation between the ACP States and the Community in international fora and organizations which aim to stabilize agricultural commodity markets.
Given the role played by the mining industry in the development efforts of numerous ACP States and the ACP-EEC mutual dependence in that sector, the Contracting Parties confirm the importance of the system established to help ACP States confronted with serious disruptions in that sector to restore it to a viable state and remedy the consequences of such disruptions for their development.
Chapter 5 Institutions
Article 29
The institutions of this Convention shall be the Council of Ministers, the Committee of Ambassadors and the Joint Assembly.
Article 30
1. The Council of Ministers shall be composed, on the one hand, of the members of the Council of the European Communities and of members of the Commission of the European Communities and, on the other hand, of a member of the government of each of the ACP States.
2. The functions of the Council of Ministers shall be to:
(a) establish the broad lines of the work to be undertaken in the context of the application of this Convention, notably in helping to solve problems fundamental to the joint and several development of the Contracting Parties;
(b) take any political decision for the attainment of the objectives of this Convention;
(c) take decisions in the specific areas provided for in this Convention;
(d) ensure efficient performance of the consultation mechanisms provided for in this Convention;
(e) deal with problems of interpretation of this Convention;
(f) settle procedural questions and arrangements for the implementation of this Convention;
(g) examine, at the request of one of the Contracting Parties, any question directly liable to hinder or promote the effective and efficient implementation of this Convention or any other issue likely to obstruct attainment of its objectives;
(h) take all necessary measures to establish ongoing contacts between the economic, cultural and social development bodies in the Community and in the ACP States and to arrange regular consultations with their representatives on matters of mutual interest, given the importance, acknowledged by the Contracting Parties, of establishing an effective dialogue between these bodies and of securing their contribution to the cooperation and development effort. Article 31
1. The Committee of Ambassadors shall be composed, on the one hand, of each Member State's Permanent Representative to the European Communities and one representative of the Commission and, on the other, of the head of each ACP State's mission to the European Communities.
2. The Committee of Ambassadors shall assist the Council of Ministers in the performance of its functions and shall carry out any brief given to it by the Council.
It shall monitor implementation of this Convention and progress towards achieving the objectives set therein.
Article 32
1. The Joint Assembly shall be composed of equal numbers of, on the one hand, members of the European Parliament on the Community side and of, on the other, members of parliament or, failing this, of representatives designated by the ACP States.
2. (a) The Joint Assembly shall be a consultative body, which shall seek, through dialogue, debate and concerted action, to:
- promote better understanding between the peoples of the Member States and the ACP States,
-promote public awareness of the interdependence of the peoples and of their interests as well as of the need for solidarity in development,
-reflect upon all matters pertaining to ACP-EEC cooperation, particularly the fundamental problems of development,
-encourage research and initiative, and formulate proposals with a view to improving and reinforcing ACP-EEC cooperation,
-urge the relevant authorities of the Contracting Parties to implement this Convention in the most efficient manner possible so as to ensure the full attainment of its objectives;
(b) the Joint Assembly shall organize regular contacts and consultations with representatives of economic, cultural and social development bodies in the ACP States and in the Community in order to obtain their views on the attainment of the objectives of this Convention.
PART TWO
THE AREAS OF ACP-EEC COOPERATION
TITLE I
ENVIRONMENT
Article 33
In the framework of this Convention, the protection and the enhancement of the environment and natural resources, the halting of the deterioration of land and forests, the restoration of ecological balances, the preservation of natural resources and their rational exploitation are basic objectives that the ACP States concerned shall strive to achieve with Community support with a view to bringing an immediate improvement in the living conditions of their populations and to safeguarding those of future generations.
Article 34
The ACP States and the Community recognize that the existence of some ACP States is under threat as a result of a rapid deterioration of the environment that hinders any development efforts, in particular those aimed at achieving the priority objectives of food self-sufficiency and food security.
For many ACP States efforts to halt this deterioration of the environment and conserve natural resources are imperative and call for the preparation and implementation of coherent modes of development that have due regard for ecological balances.
Article 35
The dimension of the environmental problem and of the means to be deployed mean that operations will have to be carried out in the context of overall, long-term policies, drawn up and implemented by the ACP States at national, regional and international level with international support.
To this end, the Parties agree to give priority in their activities to:
- a preventive approach aimed at avoiding harmful effects on the environment as a result of any programme or operation,
-a systematic approach that will ensure ecological viability at all stages, from identification to implementation,
-a trans-sectoral approach that takes into account not only the direct but also the indirect consequences of the operations undertaken.
Article 36
The protection of the environment and natural resources requires a comprehensive approach embracing the social and cultural dimensions.
In order to ensure that this specific dimension shall be taken into account, attention shall be given to incorporating suitable educational, training, information and research schemes in projects and programmes.
Article 37
Cooperation instruments appropriate to environmental needs shall be designed and implemented.
Where necessary, both qualitative and quantitative criteria may be used. Jointly approved check-lists shall be used to help estimate the environmental viability of proposed operations, whatever their scale. Environmental impact assessment will be carried out as appropriate in the case of large-scale projects and those posing a significant threat to the environment.
For the proper integration of environmental considerations, physical inventories, where possible translated into accounting terms, shall be drawn up.
The implementation of these instruments has to ensure that, should an adverse environmental impact be foreseen, the necessary corrective measures are formulated in the early stage of the preparation of the proposed project or programme so that it can go ahead in accordance with the planned timetable though improved in terms of environmental and natural resource protection.
Article 38
The Parties, desirous of bringing real protection and effective management to the environment and natural resources, consider that the areas of ACP-EEC cooperation covered in Part Two of this Convention shall be systematically examined and appraised in this light.
In this spirit the Community shall support efforts made by the ACP States at national, regional and international level and also operations mounted by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in furtherance of national and intergovernmental policies and priorities.
Article 39
1. The Contracting Parties undertake, for their part, to make every effort to ensure that international movements of hazardous waste and radioactive waste are generally controlled, and they emphasize the importance of efficient international cooperation in this area.
With this in view, the Community shall prohibit all direct or indirect export of such waste to the ACP States while at the same time the ACP States shall prohibit the direct or indirect import into their territory of such waste from the Community or from any other country, without prejudice to specific international undertakings to which the Contracting Parties have subscribed or may subscribe in the future in these two areas within the competent international fora.
These provisions do not prevent a Member State to which an ACP State has chosen to export waste for processing from returning the processed waste to the ACP State of origin.
The Contracting Parties shall expedite adoption of the necessary internal legislation and administrative regulations to implement this undertaking. At the request of one of the Parties, consultations may be held if delays are encountered. At the conclusion of such consultations each Party may take appropriate steps in the light of the situation.
2. The Parties undertake to monitor strictly the implementation of the prohibition measures referred to in the second paragraph of paragraph 1. Should difficulties arise in this respect, consultations may be held subject to the same conditions as those provided for in the second paragraph of paragraph 1 and with the same effect.
3. The term 'hazardous waste` within the meaning of this Article shall cover categories of products listed in Annexes 1 and 2 to the Basle Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
As regards radioactive waste, the applicable definitions and thresholds shall be those which will be laid down in the framework of the IAEA. In the meantime, the said definitions and thresholds shall be those specified in the declaration in Annex VIII to this Convention.
Article 40
At the request of the ACP States, the Community shall provide available technical information on pesticides and other chemical products with a view to helping them develop or reinforce a suitable and safe use of these products.
Where necessary and in accordance with the provisions for development finance cooperation, technical assistance can be given in order to ensure conditions of safety at all stages, from production to disposal of such products.
Article 41
The Parties recognize the value of exchanging views, using existing consultation mechanisms under this Convention, on major ecological hazards, whether on a planetary scale (such as the greenhouse effect, the deterioration of the ozone layer, tropical forests, etc.), or of a more specific scope resulting from the application of industrial technology. Such consultations may be requested by either Party, insofar as these hazards may in practice affect the Contracting Parties, and will be aimed at assessing the scope for joint action to be undertaken within the terms of this Convention. If necessary, the consultations will also provide for an exchange of views prior to discussions conducted on these subjects in the appropriate international fora.
TITLE II
AGRICULTURAL COOPERATION, FOOD SECURITY AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1
Agricultural cooperation and food security
Article 42
Cooperation in the agricultural and rural sector, that is arable farming, livestock production, fisheries and forestry, shall be aimed, inter alia, at:
- continuously and systematically promoting viable and sustainable development based in particular on protection of the environment and the rational management of natural resources,
-supporting the ACP States' efforts to increase their degree of self-sufficiency in food, in particular by strengthening the capacity of the ACP States to provide their populations with food of adequate quantity and quality and to ensure a satisfactory level of nutrition,
-reinforcing food security at national, regional and inter-regional level by stimulating regional trade flows of food products and improving coordination of the food policies of the countries concerned,
-guaranteeing the rural population incomes that will significantly improve their standard of living, in order to be able to cover their essential needs in the areas of food, education, health and living conditions,
-encouraging the active participation of the rural population, both men and women, in their own development by organizing small farmers into associations, and integrating producers, men and women, more effectively into national and international economic activity,
-increasing the participation of women in their capacity as producers, notably by improving access to all factors of production (land, inputs, credit, extension services and training),
-creating satisfactory living conditions and a satisfactory life-style in the rural environment, notably by developing social and cultural activities,
-improving rural productivity, notably by transfers of appropriate technology and the rational exploitation of plant and animal resources,
-reducing post-harvest losses,
-reducing the workload of women by, inter alia, promoting suitable post-harvest and food-processing technologies,
-diversifying job-creating rural activities and expanding activities that back up production,
-improving production by on-the-spot processing of the products of arable and livestock farming, fisheries and forestry,
-ensuring a better balance between food crops and export crops,
-developing and strengthening agricultural research tailored to the natural and human environment of the country and the region and meeting extension service and food security requirements,
-in the context of the above objectives, protecting the natural environment particularly through specific operations to protect and conserve ecosystems and to fight against drought, desertification and deforestation.
Article 43
1. Operations to attain the objectives referred to in Article 42 shall be as varied and practical as possible, at national, regional and inter-regional level.
2. They shall, furthermore, be designed and deployed to implement the policies and strategies established by the ACP States and respect their priorities.
3. Support shall be provided for such policies and strategies in the context of agricultural cooperation in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.
Article 44
1. Development of production calls for a rational stepping up of animal and crop production and involves:
- improving farming methods for rain-fed crops while conserving soil fertility,
-developing irrigated crops, inter alia through different types of agricultural water schemes (village water engineering, regulation of watercourses and soil improvement) ensuring optimum use and thrifty management of water which can be mastered by farmers and by local communities; operations shall also consist in the rehabilitation of existing schemes,
-improving and modernizing cultivation techniques and making better use of factors of production (improved varieties and breeds, agricultural equipment, fertilizers, plant treatment preparations),
-in the sphere of livestock farming, improving animal feed (more effective management of pasture, increased fodder production, more new water-points and repair of existing ones) and animal health, including the development of the infrastructure required for that purpose,
-better integration of arable and livestock farming,
-in the sphere of fisheries, modernizing fish-farming and developing aquaculture.
2. Other prerequisites for the development of production are:
-the extension of secondary and tertiary back-up activities for agriculture, such as the manufacture, modernization and promotion of agricultural and rural equipment and other inputs and, where necessary, their importation,
-the establishment or consolidation of agricultural savings and credit facilities adapted to local conditions in order to promote access to production factors for farmers,
-the encouragement of all those policies and incentives for producers which are appropriate to local conditions with a view to greater productivity and to improving farmer's incomes.
Article 45
In order to ensure a return on output, agricultural cooperation shall contribute to:
- adequate means of preservation and suitable storage facilities for producers,
-effective control of disease, pests and other factors causing production losses,
-basic marketing arrangements underpinned by suitable organization of producers, with the necessary material and financial resources, and by adequate means of communication,
-flexible operation of marketing channels, taking account of every form of public or private initiative, to enable local markets, areas of the country with shortfalls and urban markets to be supplied, in order to cut down dependence on outside sources,
-facilities to prevent breaks in supplies (security storage) and guard against erratic price fluctuations (intervention storage),
-processing, packaging and marketing of products, particularly by developing artisanal and agro-industrial units, in order to adapt them to the trend of the market.
Article 46
Rural promotion measures shall involve:
- the organization of producers within associations or communities in order to enable them to derive more benefit from joint contracts and investment and jointly owned equipment,
-encouragement of the participation of women and of recognition of the active role they play as full partners in the rural production and economic development processes,
-the development of social and cultural activities (such as health, education and culture) essential for improving rural life-styles;
-suitable extension services to train all farmers, both men and women,
-improvements in the training of instructors at all levels.
Article 47
Cooperation in agronomic and agrotechnical research shall contribute:
- to the development, in the ACP States, of domestic and regional research capacities suited to the local natural, social and economic conditions of crop and animal production, with special attention being paid to arid and semi-arid regions,
-in particular, to improving varieties and breeds, the nutritional quality of products and their packaging, and developing technology and processes accessible to the producers,
-to better dissemination of the results of research undertaken in an ACP or non-ACP State and applicable in other ACP States,
-to extension work in order to inform the greatest possible number of users of the results of such research,
-to promoting increased coordination of research, particularly at regional and international levels, in accordance with Article 152, and to implement appropriate operations to achieve this objective.
Article 48
Agricultural cooperation schemes shall be carried out in accordance with the detailed provisions and procedures laid down for development finance cooperation and in this context they may also cover the following:
1. under the heading of technical cooperation:
- exchange of information between the Community and the ACP States and among the ACP States themselves (on, for example, water use, intensive production techniques and the results of research),
-exchange of experience between professionals working in such areas as credit and savings, cooperatives, mutual insurance, artisanal activities and small-scale industry in rural areas;
2.under the heading of financial cooperation:
-supply of factors of production,
-support for market regulation bodies, on the basis of a coordinated approach to production and marketing problems,
-participation in the constitution of funds for agricultural credit facilities,
-opening of credit lines for farmers, farmers' trade organizations, artisans, women's groupings and small-scale industrial operators in rural areas, geared to their activities (such as supplies, primary marketing and storage), and also for associations implementing campaigns on specific themes,
-support for measures to combine industrial and trade skills in the ACP States and the Community within artisanal or industrial units, for the manufacture of inputs and equipment and for such purposes as the maintenance, packaging, storage, transport and processing of products.
Article 49
1. Community measures aimed at food security in the ACP States shall be conducted in the context of the food strategies or policies of the ACP States concerned and of the development objectives which they lay down.
They shall be implemented, in coordination with the instruments of this Convention, in the framework of Community policies and the measures resulting therefrom with due regard for the Community's international commitments.
2. In this context, multiannual indicative programming may be carried out with the ACP States which so wish, so that their food supplies can be better forecast.
Article 50
1. With regard to available agricultural products, the Community undertakes to ensure that export refunds can be fixed further in advance for all ACP States in respect of a range of products drawn up in the light of the food requirements expressed by those States.
Advance fixing shall be for one year and shall be applied each year throughout the life of this Convention, it being understood that the level of the refund will be determined in accordance with the methods normally followed by the Commission.
2. Specific agreements may be concluded with those ACP States which so request in the context of their food security policies.
Article 51
Food aid operations shall be decided on the basis of the rules and criteria adopted by the Community for all recipients of this type of aid.
Subject to those rules and to the Community's freedom of decision in this matter, food aid operations shall be governed by the following guidelines:
(a) except in urgent cases, Community food aid, which shall be a transitional measure, must be integrated with the ACP States' development policies. This calls for consistency between food aid and other cooperation measures;
(b) where products supplied as food aid are sold, they must be sold at a price which will not disrupt the domestic market. The resulting counterpart funds shall be used to finance the execution or running of projects or programmes with a major rural development component; these funds may also be used for all legitimate purposes approved by common agreement, taking into account Article 226 (d);
(c) where the products supplied are distributed free of charge, they must form part of nutrition programmes aimed in particular at vulnerable sections of the population or be delivered as remuneration for work;
(d) food aid operations that form part of development projects or programmes or nutrition programmes may be planned on a multiannual basis;
(e) as a matter of priority, the products supplied must meet the needs of the recipients. In the selection of such products, account should be taken in particular of the ratio of cost to specific nutritive value and of the effect the choice might have on consumer habits;
(f) where, in a recipient ACP State, the trend of the food situation is such as to make it desirable for food aid to be replaced in whole or in part by operations designed to consolidate the current trend, alternative operations may be implemented in the form of financial and technical assistance, in accordance with the relevant Community rules. These operations shall be decided upon at the request of the ACP State concerned;
(g) with a view to providing products suited to the habits of consumers, speeding up the supply of products for emergency operations or helping to improve food security, food aid purchases may be made not only in the Community but also in the recipient country or in another ACP or other developing country, preferably in the same geographical region.
Article 52
In implementing this Chapter, special attention shall be paid to assisting and enabling least-developed, landlocked and island ACP States to utilize fully the provisions of this Chapter. At the request of the States concerned, particular attention will be paid to:
- the specific difficulties of the least-developed ACP States in carrying out the policies or strategies they have established to strengthen their food self-sufficiency and food security. In this context, cooperation shall bear in particular on the productive sectors (including the supply of physical, technical and financial inputs), transport, marketing, packaging and the setting up of storage infrastructure,
-establishing a security stock system in landlocked ACP States in order to avoid the risk of breaks in supply,
-diversifying agricultural commodities production and improving food security in the island ACP States.
Article 53
1. The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation shall be at the disposal of the ACP States to provide them with better access to information, research, training and innovations in the spheres of agricultural and rural development and extension.
In carrying out its work within the framework of its responsibilities it shall operate in close cooperation with the institutions and bodies referred to in this Convention.
2. The tasks of the Centre shall be to:
(a) assure, where so requested by the ACP States, the dissemination of scientific and technical information on methods and means of encouraging agricultural production and rural development, and also scientific and technical support for drawing up regional programmes in its own spheres of activity;
(b) foster the development by ACP States, at national and regional level, of their own capacities for production, purchase and exchange of technical and scientific information on agriculture, rural development and fisheries;
(c) refer ACP States' requests for information to bodies qualified to deal with them, or deal direct with such requests;
(d) provide ACP national and regional documentation centres and research institutes with easier access to scientific and technical publications dealing with agricultural and rural development issues and to databanks in the Community and the ACP States;
(e) in general help the ACP States to gain easier access to the results of work carried out by the national, regional and international bodies, more especially those qualified in the technical aspects of agricultural and rural development, based in the Community and in the ACP States, and maintain contact with those bodies;
(f) foster the exchange of information between those engaged in agricultural and rural development, notably research workers, instructors, technicians and extension workers, on the results of agricultural and rural development operations;
(g) sponsor and help organize meetings of specialists, research workers, planners and development personnel so that they may exchange experiences of specific ecological environments;
(h) facilitate access by the ACP States' training and extension personnel to the information they need to carry out their tasks and refer requests for specific training to existing qualified bodies;
(i) help facilitate the adaptation of available technical and scientific information to the needs of the ACP States' departments responsible for development, extension services, and training including functional literacy programmes in rural areas;
(j) facilitate the dissemination of technical and scientific information for use in integration strategies of agricultural and rural development, by reference to the priority requirements of development.
3. In the performance of its tasks the Centre shall pay particular attention to the needs of the least-developed ACP States.
4. To carry out its work, the Centre shall be supported by decentralized regional or national information networks. Such networks shall be built up gradually and efficiently as needs are identified with, as far as possible, the support of the most appropriate organizations and institutions.
5. The Committee of Ambassadors shall be the supervisory authority of the Centre. It shall lay down the rules of operation and the procedures for the adoption of the Centre's budget. The budget shall be financed in accordance with the rules laid down in this Convention in respect of development finance cooperation.
6. (a) The Centre shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Committee of Ambassadors.
(b) The Director of the Centre shall be assisted by staff recruited within the limit of the numbers budgeted for by the Committee of Ambassadors.
(c) The Director of the Centre shall report on its activities to the Committee of Ambassadors.
7.(a) To provide the Director of the Centre with technical and scientific assistance in working out appropriate solutions to the problems encountered by the ACP States, notably to improve their access to information, technical innovation, research and development in the sphere of agricultural and rural development and to devise the Centre's action programmes, an advisory committee shall be set up, composed on a basis of parity of agricultural and rural development experts.
(b) The members of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Committee of Ambassadors in accordance with the procedures and criteria determined by it.
Chapter 2
Drought and desertification control
Article 54
The ACP States and the Community recognize that certain ACP States are facing considerable difficulties as a result of endemic drought and growing desertification, which hold back all efforts at development, in particular those aimed at achieving the priority objective of food self-sufficiency and food security.
The two Parties agree that in a number of ACP States control of drought and desertification constitutes a major challenge on which depends the success of their development policy.
Article 55
The correction of this situation and the sustainable development of the countries affected or threatened by such disasters require a policy encouraging the restoration of the natural environment and of the balance between resources and the human and animal population, in particular through such means as improved harnessing and management of water resources, appropriate agriculture, agroforestry and reafforestation schemes and control of the causes of desertification as well as of practices that engender it.
Article 56
If a return to the natural balance is to be expedited, a drought and desertification control component in particular must be incorporated into all agricultural and rural development operations, such as:
1. - the extension of agroforestry systems combining farming and forestry, research and development activities to produce plant species that are more adapted to local conditions,
-the introduction of suitable techniques aimed at increasing and maintaining the productivity of agricultural land, arable land and natural pastureland with a view to controlling the various forms of erosion,
-the reclamation of land that has deteriorated, by means of reafforestation or agricultural-land improvement, combined with maintenance schemes involving, as far as possible, the people and authorities concerned in order to safeguard the progress made;
2.the encouragement of measures to economize on wood as an energy source by stepping up research into, application of and information on new and renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar and biomass energy, and by the use of improved stoves with a greater heat yield;
3.the rational development and management of forestry resources by setting up at national or regional level, forestry management plans aimed at optimizing the exploitation of forestry resources;
4.the pursuit of ongoing campaigns to educate the people concerned to be aware of the phenomena of drought and desertification and to train them in the possible ways of controlling them;
5.an overall coordinated approach which, as a result of schemes such as those referred to in points 1 to 4, seeks to ensure the restoration of a suitable ecological balance between natural resources and the human and animal population, without prejudicing the objective of harmonious economic and social development.
Article 57
The operations to be undertaken, where necessary with research backing, shall cover, inter alia:
1. improving man's knowledge of, and ability to forecast, desertification phenomena by observing developments in the field, by means, inter alia, of modern technologies such as remote sensing, by making use of results achieved and gaining a better understanding of the changes to the human environment in time and space;
2.making an inventory of water-tables and of their replenishment capacity with a view to better predictability of water supplies, using surface and ground water and improving management of these resources, in particular by means of dams or other appropriate developments for the purpose of satisfying the needs of people and animals, and improving weather forecasting;
3.establishing a system for the prevention and control of bush fires and deforestation.
TITLE III
DEVELOPMENT OF FISHERIES
Article 58
The ACP States and the Community recognize the urgent need to promote the development of fishery resources of ACP States both as a contribution towards the development of fisheries as a whole and as a sphere of mutual interest for their respective economic sectors.
Cooperation in this field shall promote the optimum utilization of the fishery resources of ACP States, while recognizing the rights of landlocked States to participate in the exploitation of sea fisheries and the right of coastal States to exercise jurisdiction over the living marine resources of their exclusive economic zones in conformity with current international law and notably the conclusions of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
Article 59
To encourage the development of the exploitation of the fishery resources of the ACP States, all the mechanisms for assistance and cooperation provided for in this Convention, notably financial and technical assistance in accordance with the terms set out in Title III, Part Three shall be applied to fisheries.
The priority objectives of such cooperation shall be to:
- improve knowledge of the fisheries environment and its resources,
-increase the means of protecting fishery resources and monitoring their rational exploitation,
-increase the involvement of the ACP States in the exploitation of deep-sea fishery resources within their exclusive economic zones,
-encourage the rational exploitation of the fishery resources of the ACP States and the resources of high seas in which the ACP States and the Community share interests,
-increase the contribution of fisheries including aquaculture, non-industrial fishing and inland fisheries, to rural development, by giving importance to the role they play in strengthening food security, improving nutrition and the social and economic conditions of the communities concerned; this implies, inter alia, a recognition of and support for women's work at the post-harvest stage and in the marketing of fish,
-increase the contribution of fisheries to industrial development by increasing catches, output, processing and exports.
Article 60
Assistance from the Community for fisheries development shall include support in the following areas:
(a) fisheries production, including the acquisition of boats, equipment and gear, the development of infrastructure for rural fishing communities and the fishing industry and support for aquaculture projects, notably by providing specific lines of credit to appropriate ACP institutions for onlending to the operators concerned;
(b) fisheries management and protection, including the assessment of fish stocks and of aquacultural potential, the improvement of environmental monitoring and control and the development of ACP coastal States' capacities for a rational management of the fishery resources in their exclusive economic zones;
(c) processing and marketing of fishery products, including the development of processing, collection, distribution and marketing facilities and operations; the reduction of post-harvest losses and the promotion of programmes to improve fish utilization and nutrition from fishery products.
Article 61
Particular attention shall be paid in fishery resource development cooperation to the training of ACP nationals in all areas of fisheries, to the development and strengthening of ACP research capabilities and to the promotion of intra-ACP and regional cooperation in fisheries management and development.
Article 62
In implementing Articles 60 and 61, special attention shall be given to enabling least-developed, landlocked and island ACP States to maximize their capabilities to manage their fishery resources.
Article 63
The ACP States and the Community recognize the need for direct or regional cooperation or, as appropriate, cooperation through international organizations, with a view to promoting conservation and the optimum use of the living resources of the sea.
Article 64
The Community and the ACP States recognize that coastal States exercise sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing the fishery resources of their respective exclusive economic zones in conformity with current international law. The ACP States recognize that there is a role for Community Member States' fishing fleets, operating lawfully in waters under ACP jurisdiction, in the development of ACP fishery potential and in economic development in general in the coastal ACP States. Accordingly, the ACP States declare their willingness to negotiate with the Community fishery agreements aimed at guaranteeing mutually satisfactory conditions for fishing activities of vessels flying the flag of one of the Member States of the Community.
In the conclusion or implementation of such agreements, the ACP States shall not discriminate against the Community or among the Member States, without prejudice to special arrangements between developing States within the same geographical area, including reciprocal fishing arrangements, nor shall the Community discriminate against ACP States.
Article 65
Where ACP States situated in the same subregion as territories to which the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community applies wish to engage in fishing activities in the corresponding fishing zone, the Community and the ACP States shall open negotiations with a view to concluding a fishery agreement in the spirit of Article 64, taking account of their specific situation in the region and of the objective of strengthening regional cooperation between those territories and the neighbouring ACP States.
Article 66
The Community and the ACP States recognize the value of a regional approach to fisheries access and shall support moves by ACP coastal States towards harmonized arrangements for access for fishing vessels.
Article 67
The Community and the ACP States agree to take all appropriate steps to ensure that the efforts undertaken in fisheries cooperation under this Convention shall be effective, taking into account notably the Joint Declaration on the origin of fishery products.
As regards exports of fishery products to the markets of the Community, due account shall be taken of Article 358.
Article 68
The mutually satisfactory conditions referred to in Article 64 shall bear in particular on the nature and the scale of the compensation to be received by the ACP States concerned under bilateral agreements.
Compensation shall be additional to any allocation relating to projects in the fisheries sector pursuant to Title III, Part Three of this Convention.
Compensation shall be provided for partly by the Community as such and partly by the shipowners and shall take the form of financial compensation which may include licensing fees and, where appropriate, any other elements agreed upon by the parties to the fishery agreement, such as obligatory landing of part of the catch, employment of ACP nationals, the taking on board of observers, transfer of technology, research and training grants.
Compensation shall relate to the scale and value of the fishing opportunities provided in the exclusive economic zones of the ACP States concerned.
In addition, with regard to the fishing of highly migratory species, the particular character of such fisheries shall be taken into account in the respective obligations under the agreements, including the financial compensation.
The Community shall take all necessary measures to ensure that its vessels comply with the provisions of the agreements negotiated and with the laws and regulations of the ACP State concerned.
TITLE IV
COOPERATION ON COMMODITIES
Article 69
ACP-EEC cooperation in the field of commodities shall take into account:
- the fact that the economies of a large number of ACP States are highly dependent on their exports of primary products,
-the deteriorating situation of their exports in most cases, mainly as a result of the downward trend in world prices,
-the structural nature of the difficulties in many commodity sectors both within the economies of the ACP States and at international level, in particular within the Community.
Article 70
The Community and the ACP States recognize the need for joint efforts aimed at resolving the structural difficulties in many commodity sectors and they take as the main objectives of their cooperation in this field:
- diversification, both horizontal and vertical, of the ACP economies, in particular through the development of processing, marketing, distribution and transport (PMDT), and
-improvement of the competitiveness of the ACP States' commodities on world markets through the reorganization and rationalization of their production, marketing and distribution activities.
The Community and the ACP States undertake to employ all appropriate means to enable them to go as far as possible in the attainment of these objectives; to that end, they agree to make coordinated use of the range of instruments and resources of this Convention.
Article 71
In pursuit of the objectives set out in Article 70, cooperation in the field of commodities, especially PMDT, shall be planned and implemented in compliance with the priorities decided by the ACP States and in support of policies and strategies drawn up by these States.
Article 72
Cooperation operations in the field of commodities shall be directed towards developing international, regional and national markets; they shall be carried out in accordance with the detailed rules and procedures laid down in the Convention, notably those relating to development finance cooperation. In this context, they may also cover:
1. the enhancement of human resources, including in particular:
- training programmes and courses for operators in the sectors concerned,
-support for national or regional schools and training institutes specializing in the sector;
2.the fostering of investments by EEC and ACP economic operators in the sector concerned, notably by means of:
-information and awareness-raising campaigns directed at operators likely to invest in activities that diversify and add value to ACP commodities,
-a more dynamic use of risk capital for firms wishing to invest in these PMDT activities,
-utilization of the pertinent provisions on investment promotion, protection, financing and support;
3.the development and improvement of the infrastructure necessary for activities in the sector concerned, and notably transport and telecommunications networks.
Article 73
In pursuit of the objectives set out in Article 70, the Contracting Parties shall attach particular importance to:
- ensuring that market signals, whether national, regional or international, are duly taken into account,
-taking account of the economic and social impact of the operations carried out,
-ensuring a greater consistency at regional and international level between the strategies pursued by the various ACP States concerned,
-seeking an effective distribution of resources between the various activities and operators in the production sectors concerned.
Article 74
The Community and the ACP States recognize the need to ensure a better operation of international commodity markets and to increase market transparency.
They confirm their willingness to step up consultations between the ACP States and the Community in the international fora and organizations dealing with commodities.
To this end, exchanges of views shall take place at the request of either Party:
- regarding the operation of existing international agreements or specialized intergovernmental working parties with the aim of improving them and making them more effective, consistent with market trends,
-when it is proposed to conclude or renew an international agreement or set up a specialized intergovernmental working party.
The aim of such exchanges of views shall be to take account of the respective interests of each Party; they may take place, where necessary, in the framework of the Commodities Committee.
Article 75
The Community and the ACP States agree to set up a Commodities Committee, which shall serve in particular to help find solutions to structural problems relating to commodities.
The tasks of the Commodities Committee shall be to monitor the general implementation of the Convention in the commodities sector, taking account of the Parties' mutual interests, and, in particular:
(a) to examine any general problems relating to ACP-EEC trade in these products which may be submitted to it by the relevant subcommittees set up under the Convention;
(b) to recommend measures that will solve these problems and develop the competitiveness of the production and export systems;
(c) to hold exchanges of views and information on the short- and medium-term prospects and forecasts for production, consumption and trade.
Article 76
The Commodities Committee shall meet at least once a year at ministerial level. Its rules of procedure shall be laid down by the Council of Ministers. It shall be composed of representatives of the ACP States and of the Community appointed by the Council of Ministers. Its work shall be prepared by the Committee of Ambassadors in accordance with the procedures laid down in the rules of procedure of the Commodities Committee.
TITLE V
INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT, MANUFACTURING AND PROCESSING
Article 77
In order to facilitate the attainment of the industrial development objectives of the ACP States, it is important to ensure that an integrated and sustainable development strategy, which links activities in different sectors to each other, is evolved. Thus, sectoral strategies for agricultural and rural development, manufacturing, mining, energy, infrastructure and services should be designed in such a way as to foster interlinkages within and between economic sectors with a view to maximizing local value added and creating, where possible, an effective capacity to export manufactured products, while ensuring the protection of the environment and natural resources.
In pursuit of these objectives the Contracting Parties shall have recourse to the provisions on trade promotion for ACP products and private investments, in addition to the specific provisions on industrial cooperation.
Article 78
Industrial cooperation, as a key instrument for industrial development, shall have as its objectives:
(a) the creation of the basis of and framework for effective cooperation between the Community and the ACP States in the fields of manufacturing and processing, mineral resources development, energy resources development, transport and communications;
(b) the promotion of conditions conducive to industrial enterprise development, and local and external investment;
(c) improvement of capacity utilization and rehabilitation of existing industrial undertakings which are potentially viable, in order to restore the productive capacities of ACP economies;
(d) fostering the creation of and the participation in enterprises by ACP nationals, especially those of a small and medium-sized nature that produce and/or use local inputs; promotion of new and strengthening of existing enterprises;
(e) support for the establishment of new industries to supply the local market in a cost-effective manner and ensure the growth of the non-traditional export sector in order to increase foreign exchange earnings, provide employment opportunities and an increase in real incomes;
(f) promoting increasingly close relations in the industrial field between the Community and the ACP States, and in particular further encouraging the speedy establishment of ACP-EEC industrial joint ventures;
(g) promoting business associations in ACP States as well as other institutions for industrial enterprise and business development.
Article 79
The Community shall assist the ACP States in the improvement of their institutional framework, reinforcement of their financing institutions and the establishment, rehabilitation and improvement of industry-related infrastructure. The Community shall equally assist the ACP States in their efforts to integrate industrial structures at regional and inter-regional level.
Article 80
On the basis of a request from an ACP State, the Community shall provide the assistance required in the field of industrial training at all levels, bearing notably on the evaluation of industrial training needs and the establishment of corresponding programmes, the setting up and operation of national or regional ACP industrial training establishments, training for ACP nationals in appropriate establishments, on-the-job training both in the Community and in the ACP States and also cooperation between industrial training establishments in the Community and in the ACP States, and between the latter and those of other developing countries.
Article 81
In order to achieve the objectives of industrial development, the Community shall assist in the establishment and expansion of all types of viable industry which have been identified by the ACP States as important in terms of their industrialization objectives and priorities.
In this context the following areas merit particular attention:
(i) manufacturing and processing of primary products:
(a) industries processing, on a national or regional basis, raw materials for export;
(b) industries based on local needs and resources, focused on domestic and regional markets and mainly small and medium-sized industries geared to the modernization of agriculture, the efficient processing of agricultural products and the manufacturing of agricultural inputs and tools;
(ii) engineering, metallurgical and chemical industries:
(a) engineering enterprises for the production of tools and equipment primarily tailored to maintaining the existing plant and equipment in the ACP States. These enterprises should, as a matter of priority, support the manufacturing and processing sector, the major export sectors, and small and medium-sized enterprises directed at satisfying basic needs;
(b) metallurgical industries based on the mining products of the ACP States, aimed at the secondary processing of mining products to supply ACP engineering and chemical industries;
(c) chemical industries, particularly on a small and medium scale, aimed at the secondary processing of mineral products to supply the other branches of industry, and also the agricultural and health sectors;
(iii) industrial rehabilitation and capacity utilization: the restoration, upgrading, reorganization, restructuring and maintenance of existing potentially viable industrial capacities. Special emphasis should be put in this respect on industries with a low import content that provide up-stream and down-stream linkages and have a favourable effect on employment. Rehabilitation activities should be targeted at the creation of conditions necessary to make enterprises being rehabilitated self-sustaining.
Article 82
The Community shall assist the ACP States to develop, during the period of application of this Convention, as a matter of priority, viable industries, as defined in Article 81, in accordance with the capacities and decisions of each ACP State and their respective endowments taking into account the adjustment of industrial structures taking place between the Contracting Parties and throughout the world.
Article 83
The Community shall contribute in a spirit of mutual interest to the development of ACP-EEC and intra-ACP cooperation between enterprises by way of information and industrial promotion activities.
The aim of such activities shall be to intensify the regular exchange of information, organize the contacts required in the industrial sphere between industrial policy-makers, promoters and economic operators from the Community and the ACP States, carry out studies, notably feasibility studies, facilitate the establishment and operation of ACP industrial promotion bodies and foster joint investment, subcontracting arrangements and any other form of industrial cooperation between enterprises in the Member States of the Community and in the ACP States.
Article 84
The Community shall contribute to the establishment and development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the artisanal, commercial, service and industrial sectors in view of the essential role that these enterprises play in the modern and informal sectors in building up a diversified economic fabric and in the general development of the ACP countries, and in view of the advantages they offer as regards the acquisition of skills, the integrated transfer and adaptation of appropriate technology and opportunities for taking the best advantage of local manpower. The Community shall also help with sectoral evaluation and the establishment of action programmes, with the setting up of appropriate infrastructure, the establishment, strengthening and operation of institutions providing information, promotion, extension, training, credit or guarantee and transfer of technology facilities.
The Community and the ACP States shall encourage cooperation and contact between small and medium-sized enterprises in the Member States and the ACP States.
Article 85
With a view to assisting the ACP States to develop their technological base and indigenous capacity for scientific and technological development and facilitating the acquisition, transfer and adaption of technology on terms that will seek to bring about the greatest possible benefits and minimize costs, the Community, through the instruments of development finance cooperation, is prepared, inter alia, to contribute to:
(a) the establishment and strengthening of industry-related scientific and technical infrastructure in the ACP States;
(b) the drawing up and implementation of research and development programmes;
(c) the identification and creation of opportunities for collaboration among research institutes, institutions of higher learning and enterprises of ACP States, the Community, the Member States and other countries;
(d) the establishment and promotion of activities aimed at the consolidation of appropriate indigenous technology and the acquisition of relevant foreign technology, in particular that of other developing countries;
(e) the identification, evaluation and acquisition of industrial technology including the negotiation on favourable terms and conditions of foreign technology, patents and other industrial property, in particular through financing or through other suitable arrangements with firms and institutions within the Community;
(f) providing ACP States with advisory services for the preparation of regulations governing the transfer of technology and for the supply of available information, in particular on the terms and conditions of technology contracts, the types and sources of technology, and the experience of ACP States and other countries with the use of certain types of technology;
(g) the promotion of technology cooperation between ACP States and between them and other developing countries, including support to research and development units in particular at regional level, in order to make the best use of any particularly appropriate scientific and technical facilities they may possess;
(h) facilitating, wherever possible, access to and use of documentary and other data sources available in the Community.
Article 86
In order to enable the ACP States to obtain full benefit from the trade arrangements and other provisions of this Convention, promotion schemes shall be undertaken for the marketing of ACP States' industrial products on both Community and other external markets, and also in order to stimulate and develop trade in industrial products among the ACP States. Such schemes shall cover market research, marketing and the quality and standardization of manufactured goods, in accordance with Articles 229 and 230 and taking into account Articles 135 and 136.
Article 87
1. A Committee on Industrial Cooperation, supervised by the Committee of Ambassadors, shall:
(a) review progress made with the overall industrial cooperation programme resulting from this Convention and, where appropriate, submit recommendations to the Committee of Ambassadors; in this framework it shall examine and give its opinion on the reports referred to in Article 327 concerning the progress of industrial cooperation and the growth of investment flows, and regularly monitor the mechanics of the interventions undertaken by the European Investment Bank, hereinafter referred to as 'the Bank`, the Commission, the Centre for the Development of Industry, hereinafter referred to as 'the CDI` and the ACP authorities responsible for the implementation of industrial projects in order to ensure the best possible coordination;
(b) examine problems and policy issues in the field of industrial cooperation submitted to it by the ACP States or by the Community, and make any appropriate proposals;
(c) organize, at the request of the Community or of the ACP States, a review of trends in industrial policies of the ACP States and of the Member States as well as developments in the world industrial situation with a view to exchanging information necessary for improving cooperation in and facilitating the industrial development and related mining and energy activities of the ACP States;
(d) establish, on a proposal of the Executive Board, the general strategy of the CDI referred to in Article 89, appoint the members of the Advisory Council, appoint the director and deputy director, appoint the two auditors, apportion on an annual basis the overall financial allocation provided for in Article 3 of the Financial Protocol and approve the budget and annual accounts;
(e) examine the CDI's annual report and any other report presented by the Advisory Council or the Executive Board in order to assess whether the CDI's activities are in conformity with the objectives assigned to it in this Convention, report to the Committee of Ambassadors and, through it, to the Council of Ministers and carry out such other duties as may be assigned to it by the Committee of Ambassadors.
2. The composition of the Committee on Industrial Cooperation and the detailed rules for its operation shall be determined by the Council of Ministers. The Committee shall meet at least twice a year.
Article 88
A joint Advisory Council, composed of 24 members drawn from the business world or experts on industrial development, with representatives of the Commission, the Bank and the ACP Secretariat present as observers, shall allow the Committee on Industrial Cooperation to take into account the point of view of industrial operators concerning matters referred to in Article 87 (1) (a), (b) and (c). The Advisory Council shall meet formally once a year.
Article 89
The CDI shall help to establish and strengthen industrial enterprises in the ACP States, notably by encouraging joint initiatives by economic operators of the Community and the ACP States.
As a practical operational instrument, the CDI shall give priority to the identification of industrial operators for viable projects, assist in the promotion and implementation of those projects that meet the needs of ACP States, taking special account of domestic and external market opportunities for the processing of local raw materials while making optimum use of the ACP States' endowments by way of factors of production. Assistance shall also be given to the presentation of such projects to the financing institutions.
In carrying out the above tasks, the CDI shall take care to operate selectively by giving priority to small and medium-sized industrial enterprises and rehabilitation operations, and restoring existing industrial capacities to full utilization. It shall place special emphasis on opportunities for joint ventures and subcontracting. In implementing these tasks, the CDI shall also pay special attention to the objectives referred to in Article 97.
Article 90
1. In undertaking the tasks referred to in Article 89 the CDI shall operate by giving priority to viable projects. In particular, it shall:
(a) identify, appraise, evaluate, promote and assist in the implementation of economically viable industrial projects of the ACP States;
(b) carry out studies and appraisals aimed at identifying practical opportunities for industrial cooperation with the Community in order to promote the industrial development of the ACP States, and facilitating the implementation of appropriate schemes;
(c) supply information and also specific advisory services and expertise, including feasibility studies, with a view to expediting the establishment and/or restoration of industrial enterprises;
(d) identify potential partners of the ACP States and the Community for joint investment operations and assist in the implementation and follow-up;
(e) identify and provide information on possible sources of financing, assist in the presentation for financing, and, where necessary, assist in the mobilization of funds from these sources for industrial projects in ACP States;
(f) identify, collect, evaluate and supply information and advice on the acquisition, adaptation and development of appropriate industrial technology relating to specific projects and, where appropriate, assist in the setting up of experimental or demonstration schemes.
2. In order to improve the attainment of its objectives, the CDI, in addition to its main activities, may also pursue the following:
(a) carry out studies, market research and evaluation work and gather and disseminate all relevant information on the industrial cooperation situation and opportunities and notably on the economic environment, the treatment which potential investors may expect and the potential of viable industrial projects;
(b) help, in appropriate cases, to promote the marketing of ACP manufactures on their domestic markets and on the markets of the other ACP States and the Community in order to encourage optimum exploitation of installed or projected industrial capacity;
(c) identify industrial policy-makers, promoters and economic and financial operators in the Community and ACP States, and organize and facilitate contacts and meetings of all kinds between them;
(d) identify, on the basis of needs indicated by ACP States, opportunities in industrial training, chiefly on the job, to meet the requirements of existing and planned industrial undertakings in ACP States and, where necessary, assist in the implementation of appropriate schemes;
(e) gather and disseminate all relevant information concerning the industrial potential of the ACP States and trends of industrial sectors in the Community and the ACP States;
(f) promote the subcontracting and also the expansion and consolidation of regional industrial projects.
Article 91
The CDI shall be headed by a director assisted by a deputy director, recruited on the basis of technical skills and management experience, both of whom shall be appointed by the Committee on Industrial Cooperation. The management of the CDI shall implement the guidelines laid down by the Committee on Industrial Cooperation, and shall be answerable to the Executive Board.
Article 92
1. A joint Executive Board shall:
(a) advise and back up the director in providing impetus and motivation in managing the CDI and shall ensure that the guidelines laid down by the Committee on Industrial Cooperation are implemented satisfactorily;
(b) on a proposal from the director of the CDI,
(i) approve:
- multiannual and annual programmes of activities,
-the annual report,
-the organizational structures, staffing policy and establishment plan, and
(ii) adopt the budgets and annual accounts for submission to the Committee on Industrial Cooperation;
(c) take decisions on management proposals related to these issues;
(d) transmit an annual report to the Committee on Industrial Cooperation and report on any problems arising in connection with the points referred to in (c).
2. The Executive Board shall be composed of six persons with substantial experience in the private or public industrial or banking sectors or in industrial development planning and promotion. They shall be chosen by the Committee on Industrial Cooperation on the grounds of their qualifications among nationals of the States party to this Convention and appointed by that Committee according to the procedures laid down by it. A representative of the Commission, of the Bank and of the ACP Secretariat shall take part in the Board's proceedings as observers. In order to ensure a close follow-up of CDI activities, the Board shall meet at least once every two months. The secretariat shall be provided by the Centre.
Article 93
1. The Community shall contribute to the financing of the CDI's budget by means of a separate allocation in accordance with the Financial Protocol annexed hereto.
2. Two auditors appointed by the Committee on Industrial Cooperation shall audit the financial management of the CDI.
3. The CDI's statute, financial and staff regulations and rules of procedure shall be adopted by the Council of Ministers on a proposal from the Committee of Ambassadors after the entry into force of this Convention.
Article 94
The Centre shall step up its operational presence in the ACP States, notably as regards identification of projects and promoters and assistance in the submission of applications for financing.
It shall do this in accordance with procedures proposed by the Executive Board, taking account of the need to decentralize activities.
Article 95
The Commission, the Bank and the CDI shall maintain close operational cooperation in the context of their respective responsibilities.
Article 96
Members of the Advisory Council, the Executive Board and the director and deputy director of the CDI shall be appointed for a period of no longer than five years, subject to a reservation in the case of the Executive Board that the situation be reviewed mid-term.
Article 97
1. In implementing this Title, the Community shall pay special attention to the specific needs and problems of the least-developed, landlocked and island ACP States in order to establish the basis for their industrialization (the formulation of industrial policies and strategies, economic infrastructure and industrial training), notably with a view to adding value to raw materials and other local resources in the following fields in particular:
- processing of raw materials,
-development, transfer and adaptation of technologies,
-development and financing of schemes in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises,
-development of industrial infrastructure and energy and mining resources,
-adequate training in the scientific and technical areas,
-production of equipment and inputs for the rural sector.
Such operations may be implemented with assistance from the CDI.
2. At the request of one or more least-developed ACP States, the CDI shall grant special assistance for identifying on-the-spot industrial promotion and development possibilities, notably in raw materials processing and the production of equipment and inputs for the rural sector.
Article 98
In order to implement industrial cooperation, the Community shall help carry out programmes, projects and operations submitted to it on the initiative or with the agreement of the ACP States. To this end, it shall use all the means provided in this Convention, notably those at its disposal under development finance cooperation and, in particular, those which are the responsibility of the Bank, without prejudice to operations to assist ACP States in mobilizing finance from other sources.
Industrial cooperation programmes, projects and operations which involve Community financing shall be implemented in conformity with Title III, Part Three of this Convention, having regard to the particular characteristics of aid operations in the industrial sector.
TITLE VI
MINING DEVELOPMENT
Article 99
The main objectives of mining development shall be to:
- exploit all types of mineral resources in a way which ensures the profitability of mining operations in both export and local markets, while also meeting environmental concerns, and
-enhance the potential of human resources,
with a view to promoting and expediting diversified economic and social development.
The Contracting Parties stress their mutual dependence in the sector and agree to use in a coordinated fashion this Convention's various instruments in this field and also other Community instruments where appropriate.
Article 100
At the request of one or more ACP States, the Community shall carry out technical assistance or training activities to strengthen their scientific and technical capacity in the field of geology and mining in order that they may derive greater benefit from available know-how and direct their exploration and prospecting programmes accordingly.
Article 101
In order to facilitate the development of the mining resources of the ACP States concerned, having regard to national and external economic considerations and with a view to diversification, the Community shall cooperate as appropriate, through its technical and financial assistance programmes, with the ACP States in their prospecting and exploration efforts at all stages, both onshore and on the continental shelf as defined in international law.
Where appropriate, the Community shall also give its technical and financial assistance to the establishment of national or regional exploration funds in ACP States.
Article 102
With the aim of supporting efforts to exploit the ACP States' mining resources, the Community shall contribute towards the support of projects to rehabilitate, maintain, rationalize and modernize economically viable production units in order to make them more operational and more competitive.
It shall also contribute to the identification, drawing up and implementation of new viable projects to an extent compatible with investment and management capacities as well as market trends, taking particular account of the financing of feasibility and pre-investment studies.
Particular attention shall be accorded to:
- operations to enhance the role of small and medium-scale projects, so promoting local mining enterprises with particular emphasis on minerals for industry and agriculture, destined notably for the domestic or regional markets, and also new products, and
-operations to protect the environment.
Cooperation shall also support the efforts of the ACP States to:
-build up supporting infrastructure;
-take measures to ensure that mining development makes the greatest possible contribution to the producer countries' social and economic development, such measures including the optimal use of mining revenue and the integration of mining development into industrial development and into an appropriate policy of land-use planning;
-encourage European and ACP investment;
-promote regional cooperation.
Article 103
In order to contribute to the objectives set out above, the Community shall be prepared to give its technical and financial assistance to help with the exploitation of the ACP States' mining potential in accordance with the procedures peculiar to each of the instruments at its disposal and according to the provisions of this Convention.
In the sphere of research and investment preparatory to the launching of mining projects, the Community may give assistance in the form of risk capital, possibly in conjunction with contributions of capital from the ACP States concerned and other sources of financing, in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 234.
The resources referred to in these provisions may be supplemented, for projects of mutual interest, by:
(a) other Community financial and technical resources;
(b) action aimed at the mobilization of public and private capital, including cofinancing.
Article 104
The Bank may, in accordance with its Statute, commit its own resources on a case-by-case basis beyond the amount fixed in the Financial Protocol in mining investment projects recognized by the ACP State concerned and by the Community as being of mutual interest.
TITLE VII
ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
Article 105
In view of the seriousness of the energy situation in the majority of the ACP States, owing partly to the crisis caused in many countries by dependence on imported petroleum products and the increasing scarcity of fuelwood, and in view of the effects the use of fossil fuels have on the climate, the ACP States and the Community agree to cooperate in this area with a view to finding solutions to their energy problems.
In ACP-EEC cooperation particular emphasis shall be placed on energy programming, operations for saving and making efficient use of energy, reconnaissance of energy potential and the economically and technically appropriate promotion of new and renewable sources of energy.
Article 106
The Community and the ACP States recognize the mutual benefits of cooperation in the field of energy. Such cooperation shall promote the development of the ACP States' conventional and non-conventional energy potential and their self-sufficiency.
The main objectives of energy development shall be to:
(a) promote economic and social development by exploiting and developing domestic and regional energy resources in an appropriate manner from the technical, economic and environmental viewpoints;
(b) make energy production and use more efficient and, where the potential exists, increase energy self-sufficiency;
(c) encourage increased use of alternative, new and renewable energy sources;
(d) improve living conditions in urban, outlying and rural areas and propose solutions to these areas' energy problems that are appropriate to local needs and resources;
(e) protect the natural environment by conserving biomass resources, particularly fuelwood, by encouraging alternative solutions, improving consumption techniques and habits, and using energy and energy resources in a rational and sustainable manner.
Article 107
In order to attain the abovementioned objectives, energy cooperation schemes may, at the request of one or more of the ACP States concerned, be focused on:
(a) collection, analysis and dissemination of relevant information;
(b) strengthening the ACP States' management and control of their energy resources in line with their development objectives in order to enable them to appraise energy demand and supply options and to achieve strategic energy planning, inter alia by supporting energy programming and providing technical assistance for departments responsible for the planning and execution of energy policies;
(c) analysing the energy implications of development projects and programming, taking account of the energy savings required and of opportunities for primary source substitution; in this context, operations shall be designed to increase the role played by new and renewable resources, particularly in rural areas, through programmes and projects tailored to local needs and resources;
(d) implementing suitable programmes involving small and medium-sized energy development projects, particularly those aimed at saving and providing alternatives for fuelwood; in this context, operations shall be designed to resolve as swiftly as possible the problems caused by overconsumption of fuelwood by making domestic energy use more efficient in both rural and urban areas, encouraging the use of alternative sources for domestic use, particularly in urban areas, and developing plantations of suitable fuelwood species;
(e) enhancing investment potential for the exploration and development of domestic and regional energy sources as well as for the development of sites of exceptional energy production permitting the establishment of energy-intensive industry;
(f) promoting research, adaptation and dissemination of appropriate technology as well as the training needed to meet energy-related manpower needs in the energy sector;
(g) stepping up the ACP States' research and development activities, particularly as regards the development of new and renewable sources of energy;
(h) upgrading the basic infrastructure necessary for the production, transmission, transport and distribution of energy with particular emphasis on rural electrification;
(i) encouraging cooperation between ACP States in the energy sector, notably the extension of electricity distribution grids between ACP countries and cooperation between those States and other neighbouring States receiving Community aid.
Article 108
In order to contribute to the objectives set out above, the Community shall be prepared to give its technical and financial assistance to help with the exploitation of the ACP States' energy potential in accordance with the procedures peculiar to each of the instruments at its disposal and according to the provisions of this Convention.
In the sphere of research and investment preparatory to the launching of energy projects, the Community may give assistance in the form of risk capital, possibly in conjunction with contributions of capital from the ACP States concerned and other sources of financing, in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article 234.
The resources referred to in these provisions may be supplemented, for projects of mutual interest, by:
(a) other Community financial and technical resources;
(b) action aimed at the mobilization of public and private capital, including cofinancing.
Article 109
The Bank may, in accordance with its Statute, commit its own resources on a case-by-case basis beyond the amount fixed in the Financial Protocol in energy investment projects recognized by the ACP State concerned and by the Community as being of mutual interest.
TITLE VIII
ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT
Article 110
1. The Community and the ACP States stress that:
(i) enterprises constitute one of the main instruments for achieving the objectives of strengthening the economic fabric, encouraging inter-sectoral integration and increasing employment, incomes and the level of skills;
(ii) present ACP efforts to restructure their economies should be complemented by efforts to strengthen and enlarge their productive base. The enterprise sector should play an important part in the ACP States' strategies to revive growth;
(iii) a stable and propitious environment should be created together with an effective domestic financial sector with a view to reinvigorating the enterprise sector in the ACP States and to encouraging European investment;
(iv) the private sector needs to be made more dynamic and play a greater role, in particular through small and medium-sized enterprises, which are better suited to conditions prevailing in the ACP economies. Micro-firms and crafts should equally be encouraged and supported;
(v) private foreign investors complying with the objectives and priorities of ACP-EEC development cooperation should be encouraged to participate in the development efforts of the ACP States. Fair and equitable treatment should be accorded to such investment as well as a propitious, secure and predictable investment climate;
(vi) the fostering of ACP entrepreneurship is crucial for unlocking the considerable potential of the ACP States.
2. Efforts should be made to channel an increased proportion of the Convention's financial resources both to the encouragement of entrepreneurship and investment and towards directly productive activities.
Article 111
In pursuit of the abovementioned objectives, the Contracting Parties recognize the need to utilize the full range of instruments provided for by this Convention, including technical assistance, in the following areas with a view to sustaining private sector development:
(a) support for the improvement of the legal and fiscal framework for business, and development of a greater role for professional organizations and chambers of commerce in the process of enterprise development;
(b) direct assistance for the creation and the development of business (specialized business start-up services; assistance for the redeployment of ex-public sector employees; assistance for technology transfers and development; management services and market research);
(c) the development of services in support of the enterprise sector so as to provide enterprises with advisory services in the legal, technical and managerial fields;
(d) specific programmes for training and developing the capacity of individual entrepreneurs, particularly in the small-scale and informal sectors.
Article 112
In order to support the development of the savings and domestic financial sectors, the following areas of action merit special attention:
(a) assistance for the mobilization of domestic savings and the development of financial intermediaries;
(b) technical assistance for the restructuring and reform of financial institutions.
Article 113
With a view to assisting enterprise development in ACP States, the Community shall provide technical and financial assistance, subject to the conditions laid down in the development finance cooperation Title.
TITLE IX
DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICES
Chapter 1
Objectives and principles of cooperation
Article 114
1. The Community and the ACP States recognize the importance of services in the formulation of development policies and the need to step up cooperation in this sphere.
2. The Community shall support the ACP States' efforts to increase their domestic capacity to provide services with a view to improving the working of their economies, relieving balance of payment constraints and stimulating the process of regional integration.
3. The object is to ensure that the ACP States derive maximum benefit from the provisions of this Convention, at national and regional level, and to enable them to:
- participate under the most favourable conditions in Community, domestic, regional and international markets by diversifying the range and increasing the value and volume of ACP States' trade in goods and services,
-increase their collective capacity by means of greater economic integration and consolidation of functional cooperation or cooperation on specific themes,
-stimulate enterprise development, notably by encouraging ACP-EEC investment in services, with a view to creating employment, generating and distributing revenue and facilitating the transfer and adaptation of technology to specific ACP needs,
-derive maximum benefit from national or regional tourism and improve their participation in world tourism,
-set up the transport and communications networks and informatics and telematics systems needed for their development,
-step up vocational training activities and transfer of know-how in view of the determining role of human resources in the development of services.
4. In pursuit of these aims, the Contracting Parties shall have recourse, in addition to the specific provisions on services, to those on trade, trade promotion, industrial development, investment and education and training.
Article 115
1. In view of the wide range of services and their unequal contribution to development, and with a view to maximizing the impact of Community aid on the development of ACP States, the two Parties agree to pay particular attention to services necessary for their economies in the following areas:
- services that support economic development,
-tourism,
-transport, communications and information technology.
2. In order to implement cooperation in services, the Community shall help carry out programmes, projects and operations submitted to it on the initiative of the ACP States. To this end, it shall use all the means provided for in this Convention, notably those at its disposal under development finance cooperation, including those which are the responsibility of the Bank.
Article 116
In the field of the development of services, particular attention shall be given to the specific needs of landlocked and island ACP States arising from their geographic situation and also to the economic situations of least-developed ACP States.
Chapter 2
Services that support economic development
Article 117
In pursuit of cooperation objectives in this sector, cooperation shall concern marketed services, without, however, this leading to neglect of certain para-statal services required to improve the economic environment, such as customs computerization, by giving priority to the following services:
- services that support foreign trade,
-services required by the business sector,
-services that support regional integration.
Article 118
To help restore the ACP States' external competitiveness, cooperation in the field of services shall give priority to services that support external trade, the scope of which is as follows:
(i) the creation of appropriate infrastructure for trade, in particular through operations to improve external trade statistics, automation of customs procedures, port and airport management and the establishment of closer links between the various protagonists in trade, including exporters, trade financing bodies, customs and central banks;
(ii) the promotion of specifically trade-oriented services such as trade promotion measures that are also applicable to services;
(iii) the development of other external trade-linked services such as trade financing and clearing and payment facilities, and access to information networks.
Article 119
To foster a strengthening of the economic fabric of ACP States, taking account of the provisions on enterprise development, particular attention shall be paid to the following areas:
(i) business advisory services to improve the running of firms, notably by>

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