Nothing seemed to stand in the way of the EU signing the Post-Cotonou Agreement after Hungary’s reservation (see EUROPE 13165/29) was lifted on 19 April, only to have what appeared to be a mere formality postponed once again.
The Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU hopes that the EU27 ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) will be able to take a decision on Friday 28 April to approve the signing on behalf of the EU and the provisional application of the agreement by written procedure.
A procedural reservation by another Member State was the reason for the postponement of the decision last week. It was still not lifted on Wednesday 26 April. “We are waiting for the green light from all Member States. It is not clear what motivates this procedural reservation”, a diplomatic source said on the same day.
“This country needed a little more time”, said another source.
The Swedish Presidency has made it a priority to sign the renewed and modernised partnership agreement between the EU and the Organisation of ACP States (OACPS) of April 2021. If the EU27 gives the green light, the written procedure could be launched as early as Friday.
There were 79 ACP countries in 2021, a number which still holds today as, despite the withdrawal of South Africa from the OACPS in 2022, the Maldives joined the OACPS that same year. Consequential adjustments to the text of the Agreement were agreed in mid-April.
MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE) were hoping that the decision would be taken by Member States’ ambassadors “this Wednesday morning”, as Tomas Tobé (EPP, Swedish) pointed out at the opening of an exchange on the modernised partnership agreement between the EU and the 79 ACP countries.
Time is running out and the European Parliament must prepare its consent procedure, once the Agreement has been signed by the EU and provisionally implemented.
“We have lost precious time. The credibility of the EU is damaged. A number of questions remain unanswered. Parliament is waiting to receive a request for consent”, said the Chair of the parliamentary committee, Tomas Tobé.
The preparatory working document on the different aspects of the future agreement, which he prepared, synthesises his opinion to allow the rapid consent (ratification) of the European Parliament. In particular, he underlines that “this future Agreement has the potential to strengthen our political partnership on key issues such as sustainable economic growth and development, climate change, gender equality, migration, human rights, democracy and governance”.
It is also important that this new partnership identifies the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement as a framework for this relationship.
Mr Tobé also said that it was “time to create partnerships on an equal footing that benefit both parties”, conceding that “we still have a promise to keep in this regard”.
He added that it is essential that a wide variety of actors - parliaments, local authorities, civil society and the private sector - can participate in the partnership dialogue.
The representative of the European Commission welcomed the convergence of views with MEPs and reassured them concerning consultation with stakeholders, which was a shortcoming of the Cotonou Agreement.
To address this, the Commission and the ACP countries have asked the OECD’s Open Division to assist both parties in developing the elements of a consultation mechanism.
The introductory conclusions were presented at the last ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Maputo (see EUROPE 13055/8). “Work has progressed since then. Once we are in the provisional application of the agreement, discussions on a modern mechanism that incorporates best practice can begin”, he declared.
To see the draft EU Council decision to be submitted to Coreper: https://aeur.eu/f/6k6 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)