Decisions and Resolutions of the ACP Council of Ministers (Brussels, 6-7 December 2001)   

The ACP Council of Ministers gathered in Brussel, Belgium on 6 and 7 December 2001 for its 74th session, and chaired by HRH Prince Prince ‘Ulukalala Lavaka Ata, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tonga, President of ACP Council of Ministers -has adopted the following decisions and resolutions :

DECISIONS

No. 1 - BUDGET  OF  THE  ACP  SECRETARIAT  FOR  2002                          

No.2 - EXTERNAL  AUDITOR’S  REPORTS FOR  THE  FINANCIAL  YEARS  1999 AND  2000  AND  THE  APPOINTMENT OF  AN  EXTERNAL  AUDITOR

No.3  - RENEWAL OF THE MANDATE TO THE COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS ON THE REVISION OF THE GEORGETOWN AGREEMENT    

No.4 - HOLDING OF A SUMMIT OF ACP HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN 2002               

                       

No.5  - IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF PROTOCOL 1 OF THE FOURTH CONVENTION OF LOME AND THE COTONOU AGREEMENT

No.6  - PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEGOTIATION OF ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS

No.7  - REQUESTS PRESENTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE REGARDING THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BUDGET OF THE ACP GENERAL SECRETARIAT

                                                                                                                       

RESOLUTIONS

BANANAS

SUGAR

CLOSURE, DOWNSIZING OR DOWNGRADING OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION DELEGATIONS OR REPRESENTATIONS IN ACP COUNTRIES

NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SUDAN AND THE EUROPEAN UNION, RESUMPTION OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AND RELEASE OF STABEX TRANSFERS

ACCESSION BY CUBA TO THE ACP-EC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

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DECISION No.1 - BUDGET  OF  THE  ACP  SECRETARIAT  FOR  2002

                                                           


to approve the  budget of  the ACP General  Secretariat  for  2002 fixed at Euro  8,416,600 and financed as follows :

- Contributions of ACP States (Euro 4,157,400)

- EDF contributions (Euro  3,504,200)

- Tax revenue (Euro  755,000)

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DECISION  No. 2 - EXTERNAL  AUDITOR’S  REPORTS FOR  THE  FINANCIAL  YEARS  1999

AND  2000  AND  THE  APPOINTMENT OF  AN  EXTERNAL  AUDITOR

Decision

1. to note that ARTHUR ANDERSEN has unilaterally terminated its mandate as external auditor and is not prepared to carry out the work required to  certify that the EDF funds paid to the ACP General Secretariat were used for the purposes stipulated in the Financing Agreement ;

2. to mandate the Committee of Ambassadors :

- to further consult with ARTHUR ANDERSEN and the European Commission  and take any action it deems necessary ;

 

- to nominate another external auditor, if the need arises, to review the 1999 and the 2000 accounts and thereafter  to audit the 2001 accounts;

- when the process is completed, to eventually give discharge to the Authorizing Officer for financial years 1999 and 2000 ; and

- to pursue the investigation of the Trade Development Project (TDP) with a view to its finalisation, and to urge the European Commission to provide the funding.

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DECISION  No.3 - RENEWAL OF THE MANDATE TO THE COMMITTEE OF AMBASSADORS

ON THE REVISION OF THE GEORGETOWN AGREEMENT

Decision

1. to renew the mandate of the Committee of Ambassadors to continue its work on the revision of the Georgetown Agreement ;

2. to launch another appeal to the member states of the ACP Group to submit their written comments and proposals on the Georgetown Agreement to the ACP Secretariat; and

3. to request the Committee of Ambassadors to submit a final report to the next session of Council. 

                                                           

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DECISION  No.4 - HOLDING OF A SUMMIT OF ACP HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN 2002

  

Decisions

1. to hold the Third Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government in Fiji, if possible before the commencement of the ACP-EC negotiations in September 2002; 

2. to request the ACP Secretary General to consult with the  President-in-Office of the ACP Summit H.E. Mr. Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez, President of the Dominican Republic on the preparation of a preliminary Draft Agenda for the Third ACP Summit Meeting ;


3.  to mandate the Secretariat to prepare for submission, through the Committee of Ambassadors, the relevant documents to Council ;and

4.         to mandate the Secretary General to consult with the host country on the dates for the convening of the Third Summit. 

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DECISION  N°5 - IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF PROTOCOL 1 OF THE FOURTH LOME  CONVENTION AND THE COTONOU AGREEMENT

Decision

       1. to approve the proposal of the Committee of Ambassadors  to set  up a special group to examine issues relating to enquiries into the origin of products;

       2. that the problem of investigative missions must be placed on the agenda of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly; and

       3. that the Committee of Ambassadors should monitor the implementation of this decision and report to Council.

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DECISION  N°6 - PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEGOTIATION OF ECONOMIC  PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS

Decision

                              

1. that the work on the completion of the “Procedural Guidelines” should continue with the two remaining regional consultations, and that the final document be prepared  as soon as possible;

2. to mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to complete this work and present the final document to the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee for adoption at its next meeting;

3. that the Secretary-General, in collaboration with Heads of ACP Regional Integration Organisations, endeavours to complete the work on the EPA assessment studies and the analysis of the results of these studies as soon as possible, in order to speed up the process of preparations;

4. to mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to review and submit to the next meeting of the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee for its adoption, a revised time line for implementation of the preparatory activities ;

5. to mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to complete the work on the determination of the  configuration of the ACP Group for the negotiation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and submit its recommendations to the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee for consideration at its next meeting;

6. to mandate the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee to adopt the “ACP Procedural Guidelines” and to consider the recommendations of the Committee of Ambassadors on the ACP configuration for negotiation of EPAs, and subsequently present the final recommendations to the 75th session of Council;

7. that the Secretary-General urgently, with the help of the ACP Advisory Group of high level Experts, starts working on an ACP strategy for negotiations,  that the draft proposals be submitted through the Committee of Ambassadors for consideration by the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee at its next meeting and that the  final recommendations be submitted to the 75th session of Council;and

8. that the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee meets during the first quarter of 2002 to consider the recommendations of the Committee of Ambassadors on this Decision and prepare appropriate recommendations to the 75th session of  Council.

      

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DECISION  N°7 - REQUESTS PRESENTED BY THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO AND THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE REGARDING THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE BUDGET OF THE ACP GENERAL SECRETARIAT

Decision

to instruct the Committee of Ambassadors :

1. to examine:

- the request of the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding the level of its contribution to the Secretariat budget ; and

- the proposals of the Republic of Sierra Leone regarding its contribution arrears ; and

2. to implement the decisions it will have taken and report to the Council of Ministers at its next session.

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RESOLUTION 1

The ACP Council of Ministers,

                                                                             

1. Calls on the European Union to ensure that market access for ACP bananas at remunerative prices is preserved;

2. Calls on the EU Council to ensure that ACP countries’ position on the

modification of the regime is taken into account and there be continued consultations with ACP countries, as agreed in the Cotonou Agreement;

3. Calls on the EU Council to ensure that in devising the mechanics of the

Reformed banana import regime, adequate measures are introduced to ensure that there are no further declines in returns to ACP producers and that their rights and interests and those of ACP operators are safeguarded;

4. Calls on the European Commission to provide special financial

assistance to all ACP banana-exporting countries who suffer a loss of earnings due to the modification of the regime;

5. Calls on the European Commission to modify the definition of <<non-

Traditional operators>> to permit the inclusion of designated marketing companies/authorities from ACP banana producing and supplying States that have produced and supplied bananas for export to the European Union over the 1994-96 period;

 

 6. Calls on the European Commission urgently to relax the procedure and mechanism for the examination of dossiers and the disbursements of funds from the programme for technical assistance, as well as to concentrate and enhance the resources for four years preceding the establishment of the exclusive tariff system on 1 January 2006;

 7. Calls on the European Commission to establish a mechanism out of the unallocated 8th E.D.F. resources to provide technical and financial assistance to ACP countries that do not currently benefit from the Special Framework of Assistance (SFA).  This assistance would help improve the level of competitiveness of these ACP producers in view of the impending establishment of the tariff only system on 1 January 2006.

Requests the President of the ACP Council of Ministers to forward this resolution to the Council of the European Union, European Parliament and the European Commission.

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RESOLUTION 2

SUGAR

The ACP Council of Ministers,

1. Calls on the European Union to:

           

- ensure that every effort is made to defend, maintain and honour the commitments given to the ACP under the Sugar Protocol and the Special Preferential Sugar Agreement;

- recognise the significant and vital contribution that predictable and stable earnings derived from sugar exports have made to economic development and poverty alleviation and the fight against social exclusion resulting from globalisation in ACP States and the promotion and sustenance of democracy and the respect for human rights and fundamental freedom;

 

- acknowledge the multifunctional nature of the sugar sector particularly its role in environmental protection and rural development in ACP supplying States;

- honour its obligations in accordance with  the provisions of Article 38 and the Joint Declaration XXIII of the Cotonou Agreement;

- adopt urgently adequate measures to address the adverse effects of the implementation of the “Everything But Arms” initiative on some non-LDC ACP sugar exporting countries, including  ways and means to share more equitably the burden of the implementation of the EBA initiative on the sugar sector;

- acknowledge also the contribution of ACP sugar industries to the EU refining industry and, moreover recognize the mutual benefit to the parties derived from the Sugar Protocol and Special Preferential Sugar Agreement;

- open a dialogue with the ACP in line with the Georgetown Plan of Action to ensure that the entitlements of G4 are preserved;

2. Calls on the Commission of the European Communities and the ACP General Secretariat to review in accordance with Article 38 and Annex XXIII of the Cotonou Agreement the situation created by the EBA interim quota and make concrete recommendations to the next meeting of the ACP-EU JMTC for its consideration with a view to enabling it to submit appropriate recommendations to  the EU Council;

3.  Urges the ACP-EU Council to monitor the situation with a view to ensuring that Article 38 and Annex XXIII of the Cotonou Agreement are fully complied with;

4.  Requests the President of Council to forward this resolution to the EU Council, the European Parliament, the EU Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament.

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RESOLUTION 3

CLOSURE, DOWNSIZING OR DOWNGRADING OF EUROPEAN COMMISSION DELEGATIONS OR REPRESENTATIONS IN ACP COUNTRIES

The ACP Council of Ministers,

1. CALLS on the European Commission to refrain from any action which would negatively impact on the ability of ACP countries to reap full benefits from the provisions of the Partnership Agreement;

2. APPEALS to the European Commission to ensure that its representation in ACP countries enables optimum advantage to be taken of the Partnership Agreement and facilitates development cooperation as well as cooperation in other areas of mutual interest and political dialogue;

                                   

3. STRONGLY URGES the European Commission to review its decision in respect of the reduction of the status or closure of Delegations or representations  in ACP countries;

                                                                                                           

4. CALLS UPON the  Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to ensure that the principles and provisions of the Partnership Agreement are fully respected;

5. REQUESTS the President of Council to forward this resolution to the Presidents of the European Commission, the  Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

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RESOLUTION 4

NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SUDAN AND THE EUROPEAN UNION, RESUMPTION OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION AND RELEASE OF STABEX TRANSFERS

The ACP Council of Ministers,

1.  CALLS ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO :

a. speed up the normalization of relations with the Sudan and lifting of sanctions imposed on it, particularly development co-operation and Stabex entitlements ;

b. Take the necessary steps to sign the Stabex transfer agreements with the Sudan for all entitlements since 1990 amounting to 135.9 million ;

c. Agree to embark with the Government of Sudan on the programming of Sudan’s allocations under the 7th , 8th  and 9th EDF ;

2. REQUESTS the President of Council to forward this resolution to the European  Commission and the ACP-EC Council of Ministers.

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RESOLUTION  5

ACCESSION BY CUBA TO THE ACP-EC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

The ACP Council of Ministers,

1. Calls on both parties to continue to pursue their relations within the constructive spirit exercised by them in the talks just held in Havana;

2. Calls on the European Union to translate this spirit into a substantive revision of its common position on Cuba so as to treat Cuba in a fair and impartial manner;

3. Expresses the firm expectation that such revision of the EU’s common position will lead to Cuba’s accession to the ACP-EC Cotonou Agreement without any special or inequitable conditions whatsoever;

4. Instructs the President of Council and the Secretary-General of the ACP Group to convey to the EU side, at the appropriate levels, the position of the ACP Group as reflected in this Resolution.

                                                                                   

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