ACP/25/005/03
[Final]
Decisions and Resolutions
of the 77th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers
(Brussels, ACP House,
10-13 May2003)
SUMMARY
DECISIONS
No.1
ON THE ACCESSION OF THE DEMOCRATIC
No.3 ON TEXTILES AND
CLOTHING
No.4
ON
THE
*************
RESOLUTIONS
No.1
BANANAS
No.2
RICE
No.3 SUGAR *
No.4
NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN
THE
No.5 THE INITIATIVE OF PRESIDENT CHIRAC
ON AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SUB-SAHARAN
No.6 TUNA
No.7
COTTON
* This
resolution will be transmitted later
DECISION
No.1/LXXVII/03
OF THE
77TH SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS
HELD IN
|
ON THE ACCESSION OF
THE DEMOCRATIC |
The ACP
Council of Ministers,
IN VIEW OF
the
request dated
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT
the
provisions of Article 94 of the Cotonou Agreement and Article 22 of the
BEARING IN
MIND
that Timor Leste had been granted observer status in the joint institutions of
the Cotonou Agreement as well as the organs of the ACP Group of
States;
HAVING NOTED
the
conclusions of the impact study commissioned by the ACP Secretariat on the
aforementioned request of Timor Leste;
HEREBY
DECIDES:
To agree that the 28th
Session of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers approves the decision regarding the
accession of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste to the ACP-EC Partnership
Agreement; and
To accept the accession of the
Democratic Republic of Timor Leste to the Georgetown Agreement as the
79th member of the ACP Group of States, with all the attendant rights
and obligations.
Done
at
Hon. Serge VOHOR
Deputy
Prime Minister of
President
of the ACP Council of Ministers
DECISION
No.2/LXXVII/03
OF THE
77TH SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS
HELD IN
ON
PROGRESS ON NEGOTIATIONS OF THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP
AGREEMENTS |
The ACP
Council of Ministers,
Recalling Decision No.1 of its
Special Session held on 25 and
Recalling the ACP Guidelines for
the Negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreements which provide for a
two-phased negotiation process and that the second phase of the negotiations at
the national or regional level could start in September
2003;
Having considered the report of
the Committee of Ambassadors on the state of progress in the negotiations of
EPAs under Phase I;
Emphasizing that the desired outcome
of Phase I EPA negotiations includes concluding an all ACP-EC Agreement on
principles and objectives as well as issues of common interest to the entire
Group;
Concerned over the slow progress
in achieving the objectives of Phase I EPA negotiations and that divergences on issues of principle have
arisen;
HEREBY
DECIDES:
1.
To meet in a special session, as soon as possible, to consider the
state of the negotiations and prepare for the 2nd ACP-EC Ministerial
Meeting on the Negotiations of EPAs, which should take
place before the end of the third quarter of 2003;
2
2.
To mandate the Committee of Ambassadors and the Secretary-General
to undertake preparations for these meetings.
Done at
Hon.
Serge VOHOR
Deputy
Prime Minister of
President
of the ACP Council of Ministers
DECISION
No.3/LXXVII/03
OF THE 77th
SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN
ON
TEXTILES AND CLOTHING
Recalling
that
under the Cotonou Agreement, exports of textiles and clothing products from ACP
States to the EU are not subjected to quotas and duties;
Noting that this preferential
treatment has helped to attract investment and technology to ACP States and thus
encouraged the development of the textiles and clothing industries in many ACP
States;
Aware of the heavy dependence
of various ACP States on preferential access for their exports of textiles and
clothing;
Aware also of the
critical importance of those industries and their contribution to the economies
of a large number of ACP States, many of which are LDCs and small and vulnerable islands, since they provide
employment to thousands of people and generate valuable export earnings
necessary for their sustained growth and sustainable
development;
Noting that the WTO Agreement
on Textiles and Clothing provides for the abolition of all quotas on textiles
and clothing exports by the end of 2004 whereby only a few very large
producers/exporters will benefit and many small and vulnerable countries will
lose out;
Noting
also the
on-going negotiations in the WTO on industrial products, in particular the EU
proposal on tariff compression which, if accepted, will have serious adverse
effects on the competitiveness of the textiles and clothing sector of the ACP
States;
Further noting
that the
Conference on the Future of Textiles and Clothing after 2005, held in Brussels
on 5-6 May 2003 under the auspices of the European Commission, recognized the
need to maintain the preferential regime for certain categories of developing
countries, particularly the ACP and the LDCs and that
trade liberalization should not be based only on comparative advantage but also
on fair trade and solidarity;
2
Deeply concerned
that the
removal of quotas on textiles and clothing exports and the reduction of tariffs
on textiles and clothing as a result of the WTO negotiations will pose a serious
threat to the survival of the ACP textiles and clothing industries, especially
in view of the resulting stiffer competition;
Recognizing that unless ACP States
modernize and restructure their textiles and clothing industries and upgrade
their managerial and marketing skills, they will not be able to adapt to these
challenges;
Considering
that it
is difficult for many ACP States to finance the crucial investment required to
modernize and restructure their textiles and clothing industries as most of
their companies are already highly indebted and the possibility of generating
resources from within is limited;
HEREBY
DECIDES:
-
To mandate the Committee of
Ambassadors to submit, as a matter of urgency to the European Commission, a
project to be financed from unutilized resources of past EDFs and/or 9th EDF reserves and/or intra-ACP
funds, for the restructuring and modernization of the textiles and clothing
industries of the ACP States and to report developments to the next meeting of
the ACP Ministerial Trade Committee and to the 78th Session of
Council. The resources to be
allocated should be commensurate with the need to enable the ACP States to
operate in a liberalized trading situation.
Done at
Hon. Serge VOHOR
Deputy
Prime Minister of
President
of the ACP Council of Ministers
DECISION
No.4/LXXVII/03
OF THE 77th
SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
HELD IN
|
ON
THE |
The
ACP Council of Ministers,
Acknowledging
the
important role of National and Regional Authorizing Officers (NAOs/RAOs) in the timely and effective disbursement of
European Development Fund (EDF) / European Programme
for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD) funded programmes and projects in
Having
noted the
conclusions and recommendations of the 7th Meeting of National and
Regional Authorizing Officers (NAOs/RAOs), which was held in
HEREBY
DECIDES:
1.
To endorse
the Brussels Declaration of the 7th meeting of the National and
Regional Authorizing Officers on the timely and effective implementation of the
European Development Fund (EDF) / European Programme
for Reconstruction and Development (EPRD);
2.
To mandate
the ACP Development Finance Committee (DFC), assisted by the Committee of
Ambassadors, to follow-up its implementation in conjunction with the Joint DFC;
and
2
3.
To request
the Secretary-General of the ACP Group of States to forward the Brussels
Declaration to the President of the European Commission, and the Co-Presidents
of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA).
Done at
Hon. Serge VOHOR
Deputy
Prime Minister of
President
of the ACP Council of Ministers
RESOLUTION
OF
THE 77TH SESSION OF THE ACP COUNCIL OF
MINISTERS
HELD IN
|
BANANAS |
The ACP Council of
Ministers,
-
Meeting in
A.
HAVING
REGARD
to the Resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on Bananas adopted at
its fourth Session in
B.
RECALLING the Resolution on Bananas adopted at the
76th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers held in
C.
AWARE
of the considerable importance of banana production and trade to the economic
and social stability and development of ACP countries;
D.
WHEREAS
the Community is bound by Article 36.3 of the Cotonou Agreement under which the
non-reciprocal trade preferences applied under the Fourth EC Convention shall be
maintained under the conditions defined in Annex V;
E.
WHEREAS
under Protocol 5 of the Fourth ACP-EC Convention the Community is bound to
guarantee that no ACP State shall be placed as regards access to its traditional
markets and its advantages on those markets in a less favourable situation than
in the past or present;
F.
WHEREAS
the Community is bound by the Cotonou Agreement especially Article 1 of
Protocol 5 of Annex V thereto
to take measures to ensure the viability of the ACP banana exporting enterprises
as well as the maintenance of outlets for ACP bananas on the Community
market;
2
G.
WHEREAS
EU banana imports from the ACP are governed by import licensing arrangements
which disproportionately penalise ACP suppliers, particularly the most
vulnerable, and the concerns expressed to the Commission by the JPA and the ACP
were not given due consideration, with the result that ACP interests have not
been satisfactorily accommodated in the reform of the EU banana
regime;
H.
RECOGNIZING
that elements of the reform of the Common Organization of the Market for
Bananas, such as an increase of the quota for third countries and a
concentration of licences in the hands of fewer importers have resulted in
prices plummeting to levels which threaten to displace ACP suppliers, most of
whom have no alternative markets;
I.
CONCERNED
about
the continuing deterioration of prices for ACP bananas on the European Market
which threatens the existence of the ACP banana industry, and which has resulted
in the recent cessation of banana production from Suriname, as well as the
serious threat to continued production of bananas from the Windward Islands and
Belize;
J.
CONCERNED
about
the adverse effects on banana prices as a result of EU enlargement and about
viability of the banana industry in the ACP States, in the event of any increase
in the relevant quota;
K.
CONCERNED
by the response from the Commission dated the 10th of January 2003,
in which it states that no price guarantee mechanism is envisaged under the CMO
for bananas and that the volume of the tariff quota can only be modified to
ensure supply of the EU market;
1.
Calls
on the European Union to undertake the following:
·
Introduce
immediate measures to halt and reverse the continued deterioration of prices and
ensure that access to the European market for ACP bananas at a remunerative price is
preserved;
·
Consult
with the ACP on the process of EU enlargement and the potential impact of such
enlargement on the regime for bananas;
3
·
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), as well as a Disaster Fund
;
· Ensure that any increase in the quota for bananas resulting from EU enlargement doe