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

President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Council of Ministers Ali Farah Assoweh urges countries that have not ratified the revised Cotonou Agreement of 25 June 2005 to swiftly ratify it.

He made the strong appeal when addressing the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Ljubljana, Solvania this week.

Twenty five of the 27 EU Member States and only 46 ACP countries have ratified the revised Cotonou Agreement and deposited their instruments of ratification.

The agreement needs to be ratified by two-thirds of the ACP States and all the EU Member States before it can be implemented.

The non ratification by two thirds of ACP members means that the EU will not be releasing funds under the 10th EDF.

The 10th EDF was to be implemented on January 1st, 2008.

With the urgency of the matter, Mr Assoweh is pressing for ACP members of the JPA to take the leading role in ensuring the remaining countries ratify the agreement.

"I am persistently urging the distinguished members of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly to become personally involved so as to ensure that those countries that have not yet done so will move to swiftly ratify the revised Agreement," he told the members.

Mr Assoweh reiterated that the ratification is a prerequisite for the coming into force of the 10th European Development Fund whose importance as an instrument of support for the economic growth and sustainable development of the ACP States is indisputable.

Early this year in Brussels, Belgium, the ACP National and Regional Authorising Officers, appealed strongly for the ratification of the revised Cotonou Agreement.

They also highlighted the likely consequences on the programming of the 10th EDF if this was not done.
Meanwhile, Mr Assoweh also stressed that ACP Group is determined to continue its partnership with EU and to strengthen it a little more each day. 

FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT ROBERT IROGA, PRESS ATTACHE, ACP iroga@acp.int