Brussels, 19/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The 22nd meeting of the socio-economic circles of ACP and EU countries, held from 13 to 15 September in Brussels under the chairmanship of Beatrice Rangoni-Machiavelli, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (ESC), was devoted to the implementation of the new ACP/EU agreement signed on 23 June this year in Cotonou and to the ways of assuring effective participation by economic and social circles in the elaboration of the development strategies established. The meeting showed there was a feeling of frustration among some ACP participants, who fear they will be excluded from the process of setting development strategies in place. But hope, also, was expressed, as the socio-economic circles now have the opportunity to show their value and their ability to work together. Two reports served as a base for discussions, one from Spanish trade unionist, ESC member Ramon Baeza Sanjuan, the other from Zimbabwean employer Danny Meyer. A trade union file analysing the new ACP/EU agreement was also made available to the scrutiny of participants.
A final and highly "consensual" declaration was adopted and will be forwarded to the States that are party to the agreement, to the ACP/EU Council of Ministers, to the ACP/EU Joint Assembly, to the European Commission and to its delegates in ACP countries, to the Secretariat General of the ACP States and to the joint ACP/EU bodies. It is the result of the conclusions reached at the two regional seminars organised by the ESC (the first in Dakar in March 1999 and the second in Windhoek in March 2000) and of the two workshops of the conference, one covering the definition of actors and their consultation in the conception of development strategies, mainly in social matters, and the other on the involvement of actors in the implementation of development strategies, including decentralised cooperation. This text received endorsement from representatives of the members of the ACP/EU follow-up committee and from the chairpersons of the Employers, Workers and Various Interest Groups, said the French ESC employer member, Henri Malosse, who chaired the closing session. As far as their work programme 2001-2002 is concerned, the participants propose to focus their reflection on: 1) the implementation of provisions of the agreement relating to the actors - conditions, methods and obstacles - mainly in the context of regional seminars; 2) balanced trade and economic and social development, with the elaboration of two reports (one from the ACPs and the other from the ESC), to serve as a base for discussions at the 23rd meeting.
During the debate on the declaration, many representatives of ACP countries mainly insisted that the following should be clearly included in the text (which was accepted by the president, Mr Malosse): 1) very broad diffusion of information by the ACP and EU countries on the implementation of the agreement and on the development strategies, by all adequate means (organisation of meetings at national and regional level, bulletins and information newsletters, etc.); 2) the central position and the place of choice to be held by trade unionists in this process of setting up development strategies; 3) the independence needed by actors compared to the powers in place; 4) sustainable employment and fundamental social rights; 5) the fundamental role of the economic and social operators as an essential pillar of democracy in order to ensure daily participation of citizens in public affairs; 6) the external debt which bears very heavily on these countries, and the consequences of adjustment; 7) support for private initiative and support for farmers. On behalf of the ICFTU (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions), the WCL (World Confederation of Labour) and ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation), Gérard Fonteneau expressed the hope that national Cotonou committees would be set in place representing the non state actors in a more balanced manner. He stressed the "dissatisfaction of the trade union world for its lack of representation within the ACP/EU follow-up committee".
MS Rangoni-Machiavelli believes enlargement of ACP/EU partnership to civil society is a pre-requisite for its success
At the opening of work, Béatrice Rangoni-Machiavelli, in the Chair, was delighted with the Cotonou text which "deeply renews EU/ACP cooperation", mainly by insisting on the notion of good governance, by the priority granted to the fight against poverty, by reform of the financial and programming instruments and by the new commercial framework - but also because the "Cotonou agreement gives a more important place than in the past to the organised civil society". The Committee "wants to be the house of the organised EU civil society, which is also that of the ACP countries", she added, before concluding: "Development is via economic and social democracy and by mobilisation of the civil society.
The enlargement of the ACP/EU partnership is a condition of its success and a bet on true sustainable development accompanied by economic and social progress and a reinforcing of democracy". In agreement with Mrs Rangoni-Machiavelli, the Co-President of the ACP/EU Joint Assembly John Corrie insisted for "the NGOs (such as the Churches, women's rights organisations etc.) to have greater involvement in ACP/EU cooperation" as well as on the importance of regional seminars by economic and social sectors, which must "become a follow-up instrument for the implementation of the new Convention". John Corrie indicated to the participants that "the joint ACP/EU Assembly awaited suggestions from the socio-economic circles to forge more fruitful links".
Criticisms and partial satisfaction from European and world trade union sphere
To prepare this 22 meeting, the ICFTU, the ETUC, the WCL and the Committee's group of workers have published a dossier - which was presented to the participants by their expert Gerard Fontenau - in which they give a mitigated assessment on the new agreement. Satisfaction concerns the following provisions of the agreement: participation of economic and social actors in all the development programmes, transparency of the programmes, explicit reference to the fundamental right of the ILO, social objectives and sustainable development. The concerns refer to the following points: the free trade aspects often seem to win over the objectives and practices of cooperation; the integration of ACP countries in world trade involves serious risks for their ability for economic and social development; the priority problems such as debt or structural adjustment are neglected. From now on to weave an "effective, efficient and viable partnership", the trade union world mainly proposes to: clearly formulate the mutual interests of the parties, notably those of the EU, in cooperation with the ACP countries; soften, in cooperation with the social partners, through a process between the ACP and EU, around an alternative policy for economic and social development before replacing the structural adjustments programmes; formulate and negotiate a standard agreement on the promotion and protection of employment; encourage the development of a political will within the EU and the ACP countries, to find a realistic and sustainable solution to the problem of debt and to create a special committee on ACP/EU debt, within the joint parliamentary assembly.
Resolution on the situation in Fiji
Presented at the end of the meeting by the Fijian trade unionist (and member of the ACP/EU follow-up committee) Felix Anthony, a resolution, adopted by the participants, recalls the "fundamental importance of the undertakings by the parties on the key elements of the ACP/EU partnership agreement, notably in terms of democracy, rule of law and protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights", and calls for "democracy to be reinstated as quickly as possible in Fiji in accordance with the 1997 constitution".