Brussels, 03/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - The EU-Macau Joint Committee met at the end of last week for the first time since the handover of Macau to the People's Republic of China. The Joint Committee, which manages the cooperation agreement signed in December 1992, took stock of the implementation of priorities defined in the Commission's Communication "The European Union and Macau: Beyond 2000". It noted above all that the Macau Economic and Trade Office has been accredited and that trade relations are improving.
The Macau representatives drew up a positive picture of the implementation of the "Basic Law" of the territory and of the human rights situation. "The EU restated its support for the "full introduction and upholding of the Basic Law of MSAR, and the EU's willingness to encourage European investment in the territory", states the joint press release. The European delegation "welcomed recent initiatives taken by Macau to upgrade its IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) system and to comply with the WTO TRIPs Agreement", and it trusts that "these measures will turn into tangible results". In addition, "both sides welcomed the establishment of an electronic link before this summer, which will allow an exchange of on-line data, in order to facilitate trade in the textiles sector".
Both parties welcomed the progress of "implementation of several projects, which had commenced since the previous Joint Committee meeting in 1999. These included the Regional Centre for Tourism, the EU Studies Institute and the EC Offshore Development Programme". They noted the progress made over the appointment of a Technical Cooperation Officer for Macau and discussed Macau's request for a legal cooperation assistance programme. The delegations also spoke of the possibility of developing cooperation in the science and technology sector, in the context of European programmes intended for the whole of the region, such as Asia Link and Asia Invest.