Brussels, 23/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 24 January, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of relations between the EU and the OCTs (overseas countries and territories), the annual EU/OCT Forum will open in Brussels for three days. This meeting will mark a new step towards the creation of the renewed partnership, designed to modernise the relationship between the EU and these island States, which have been associated with the Union since 2001.
The legislative proposal which creates the foundation for this new partnership will be presented by the European Commission this year. In the meantime, the forum, which will be attended by Development Commissioner Andris Piebglags, will debate regional cooperation and the implementation and programming of the European Development Fund (9th and 10th EDF), which finances both cooperation between the EU and 79 ACP countries and cooperation with the OCTs. In the framework of the draft budget 2012, the development committee of the European Parliament recently called for the OCTs to have their own financial instrument, separate from the EDF. The association decision of 2001 which links the EU to the OCTs expires in 2013.
To prepare for this, the Commission has launched a reflection with a Green Paper published in 2008, followed by a communication on the future of relations between the EU and the OCTs, which was published in November 2009 (EUROPE 10028). (AN/transl.fl)