Brussels, 11/05/2001 (Agence Europe) - The 26th session of the Joint ACP/EU Council I Friday was mostly devoted to trade issues of a common interest, in view of trade negotiations between the EU and the ACP, and forthcoming multilateral deadlines. Here are the results secured in trade matters:
1. Future economic partnership agreements: the Council exchanged views on the preparation of ACP/EU trade negotiations scheduled to begin early 2002 to end in 2006 with agreements compatible with the WTO. The ACP States accused the Union for its delay in placing the 20 million euro aid promised to them for preparing for these negotiations. For their part, the Europeans considered, with regret, that the ACP had not examined the regional integration plans proposed as basis for a definition of entities called on to negotiate with the Union. The ACP reiterated their willingness to undertake impact-assessment studies of the different possible geographical configurations before deciding. The Council concluded by stressing the urgent need to speed up preparations if the date of September 2002 was to be respected.
2. Fourth Ministerial conference of the WTO: The Council debated the preparations for the Doha Conference (Qatar). The Union reminded the ACP of its desire to see a new multilateral negotiating round launched, and its determination to take advantage of its privileged relations with the ACP to work in close cooperation and to find grounds for agreement with them. The ACP States (speaking through Jamaica) considered that there was no urgency in launching a new round that would not be to their advantage. Without being opposed to the idea, they placed emphasis on: a) support to facilitate membership of the WTO for ACP countries that are not members; b) active ACP participation in the drawing up of WTO rules, as well as their implementation. Commissioner Poul Nielson noted that the maximum use of common capital to deal, together, with issues essential to the WTO was preferable to a negative attitude, given that a new round would certainly take place. The Council concluded on the need for close cooperation between the two parties to prepare the agenda o the WTO ministerial conference and on opening as soon as possible an ACP representation office in Geneva, which will require the release of the funds announced by the Commission (10 million euro) but not yet paid out.
3. Access to medicines: the EU referred to its readiness, in the framework of the Commission's action programme in the fight against transmissible diseases in developing countries, to facilitate access for poor countries to generic medicines, using the margin of flexibility allowed by the TRIPS agreements.
4. Bananas: the EU informed the ACP States of the agreement with the United States to put an end., as and from July, of the dispute over the Community import regime. The European side reassured the ACP, stressing that their exports to the EU would be guaranteed. The ACP States (speaking through St. Lucia) considered that the new arrangements penalized them as their annual quota had fallen by 100,000 tonnes (750,000 instead of 850,000), while assuring the EU that they did not want to jeopardize an agreement gained from such a hard struggle. They also referred top the possibility of an ACP state not having met its quota being able to transfer the unused quota to another ACP State. The Council concluded by expressing the hope of securing an exemption from the WTO for the implementation of the second stage of the new regime, guaranteeing ACP States a quota at special conditions.
5. Sugar: the Council took note of the report by the spokesperson of the Ministerial Committee of the ACP countries producers of sugar (the Minister of Mauritius) following the ACP ministerial conference (Guyana, 23-26 April). Concerns relating to the future regime applicable to sugar, including the Commission's mandate for the extension, in June, of the agreement on preferential sugar, were withdrawn. The ACP States called on the EU to recognize the multi-faceted nature of the sugar industry in ACP supplier States, and to extend the Sugar Protocol for six years.
EUROPE will return to the conclusions of the joint ACP/EU Council.