Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 8 • Number 17 • 13th May 2004
ACP Ministers Take Stance On Cotonou Review
The 79th Session of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Council of Ministers met in Gaborone, Botswana from 4-5 May to consolidate the ACP strategy in light of major developments, such as the imminent review of the Cotonou Agreement to be launched this year, and the stalled WTO talks. The Council of Ministers — composed of a government representative from each ACP state and convening biannually — is the main ACP decision-making body, responsible for implementing and monitoring the group’s objectives.
Poverty alleviation to take centre stage in review of Cotonou Agreement
The Council of Ministers adopted a number of decisions and resolutions during their meeting. On the review of the Cotonou Agreement, the ministers approved a negotiating structure and time-frame, and agreed that poverty alleviation should be at the heart of this process. On the ongoing Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between some ACP regions and the EU, the ministers concluded that outstanding issues, such as rules of origin, dispute settlement, trade related issues (apart from the Singapore issues), and the ‘non-execution clause’ under the Cotonou Agreement, should continue to be discussed at the all-ACP level (as opposed to the regional-level) with the EU. Under the non-execution clause, an ACP country faces sanctions, including suspension from the Cotonou regime as a last resort, if it fails to fulfil an obligation related to respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law. The ACP is concerned that this provision could provide a basis for the EU to invoke unilateral trade sanctions.
Regarding the ongoing WTO talks, the ministers noted that the alliance of ninety developing and least developed countries consisting mostly of ACP states (the so-called G-90 formed during the WTO Cancun Ministerial) would hold two meetings in June and July to deliberate further on a strategy to better defend their trade interests. The ministers also adopted a programme that calls on the EU to provide financial and technical assistance to coffee, cocoa and peanut producers. Other decisions taken included a further demand on the EU to reduce cotton subsidies, and resolutions on access to affordable medicines and securing preferences on rice, sugar and bananas.
ACP-EU Council of Ministers meeting
Following closely after the ACP Council of Ministers meeting, the 29th Session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers met from 6-7 May at the same venue. This group, composed of one representative from each ACP and EU state, meets once a year to engage in political dialogue, adopt policy directives and take decisions on the implementation of ACP-EU cooperation. The meeting presented an opportunity for the ACP to voice their concerns about the impact of EU enlargement on their economies — in particular on the trade preferences they currently enjoy on commodities such as sugar. The ACP demanded a firm commitment from the EU to safeguard and enhance ACP development assistance and existing preferential market access conditions and to ensure that these benefits were not transferred to new EU members or subsumed under the new priorities of an enlarged EU.
ICTSD reporting; "Main decisions and resolutions of the ACP Council of Ministers," ACP SECRETARIAT PRESS RELEASE, 8 May 2004; "Main decisions and resolutions of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers," ACP SECRETARIAT PRESS RELEASE, 8 May 2004.