Brussels, 21/06/2010 (Agence Europe) - In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 22 June, the European Union and 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, meeting in the joint EU-ACP Council of Ministers, will sign the revised Cotonou Partnership Agreement following the second quinquennial review by the two parties which was initialled in Brussels last 19 March (see EUROPE 10102).
Over and above the signing ceremony, which paves the way for a new, renewed chapter in the ACP-EU partnership for development, better tailored to the latest international developments, the Council is likely to adopt joint statements: one on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of the high-level UN meeting on MDG progress and prospects in New York on 20-22 September, and the other on climate change, before the UN conference in Mexico at the end of the year (Cancún, 29 November-10 December).
On behalf of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos and President of the ACP Council Paul Bunduku-Latha will jointly chair the Council meeting, which will also be attended by Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, ACP Group Secretary General. European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs will represent the European Commission and will take advantage of his visit to Burkina Faso to meet its President Blaise Compaore and the President of the EIB Philippe Maystadt.
“The joint EU-ACP Council represents half of the world and half of global aid. The revised Cotonou Agreement is our common instrument in the fight against poverty. It will help to tackle the challenges of regional integration, climate change and the achievement of the Millennium Development in these countries. If we join our efforts to address common challenges, if we speak together as one, we can make New York and Cancun a success,” said Piebalgs, in a press release published on Monday 21 June, on the eve of the joint ministerial meeting.
The first quinquennial review, which brought progress inter alia in political dialogue, was signed in 2005.
This second review is the fruit of negotiations by the EU and, for the first time, the Committee of ACP Ambassadors, between July 2009 and March 2010, a very short timescale for a partnership between the EU and a group of developing countries with very different situations. It reflects the growing importance of the regional integration being promoted by the economic partnership agreements (EPAs) which are still being negotiated, strengthens security cooperation and acknowledges climate change as a problem to be tackled globally. The main innovations of the text relate to:
Political relations (chapter I): aid effectiveness principles have been included, the content of the political dialogue clarified, provisions added on tackling terrorism and small calibre firearms, and on issues related to state fragility, the arrangements on how joint institutions will operate have been clarified (an increased role has been given to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly) and national ACP parliaments have, for the first time, been involved in the partnership, which, hitherto, has been a partnership between governments. The EU, which wanted to amend Article 13 on migration in order to negotiate more precise agreements on the readmission of migrants, and on migration and development. A structured political dialogue on migration between the EU and the CP countries will begin after the ACP-EU Council in Ouagadougou.
Economic relations, regional integration and trade (chapter II): the trade system which will henceforth be governed by EPAs, the everything except arms scheme and the GSP scheme, has been removed from the Cotonou Agreement with the exception of provisions which apply to the whole ACP group; provisions have been added on the environment, climate change, fisheries (on which there will be a high-level dialogue), agriculture and food security.
Development aid (chapter III): the main innovation is in the detail brought on how to take account of aid effectiveness. A raft of procedures has also been put in place to improve budgetary control, bringing European Development Fund (EDF) procedures more into line with those of the other Community budget instruments. Once signed, the text of the agreement revised for the second time will have to be ratified. The Cotonou Agreement was concluded in 2000 for 20 years. (A.N./transl./rt)