Brussels, 22/04/2003 (Agence Europe) - Following the agreement reached several days earlier at ambassador level of the fifteen member states, the EU cabinet unanimously passed an act on 14th April, modifying the regulations in force dated 2001 regarding the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for the period from 1st January 2002 to the 31st December 2004. The following are the modifications which have been made: - a provision was added in order to enable every beneficiary country going through an economic crisis to be exempt of graduation (suppression of tariff-related preferences) for sectors where a decrease of 3% less than the actual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) has been recorded over the last twelve months; - the Council has accepted that the "financial clause" be applied to the graduation and not to the readmission in favour of the administration. The date of application for the graduation has been set for 1st November 2003 and that of the readmission in favour of the administration for 1st January 2003; - the tariffs relating to graduated sectors shall be reintroduced in two phases, 50 % on the date of application of the graduation and 50 % six months later.
In a joint statement the Commission and the Council are of the opinion that the struggle against drugs is a leading common political responsibility which must be upheld as a priority by the EU and that this struggle be peremptorily drafted by long term encouragement of lucrative cultures able to replace drug cultures in the countries concerned. The Council and the Commission deem it to be necessary, with the prospect of modifying of the GDP as of 1st January 2005, and in order that the new system contributes to the development of a durable and competitive production in developing countries, examines all of the means of resolving the issue including, amongst other things, the possible placement of the graduation system for cultures substituting the drug culture. This examination shall be carried out at the Council based on the Commission's proposals and this before the "General affairs and foreign relations" Council of November 2003. The adopted solution will have to guarantee the lasting quality of the GDP and be compatible with the regulations of the WTO.