Brussels, 03/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - In its 2007 annual report on relations between the EU and the former Portuguese enclave of Macao, which the European Commission adopted on Wednesday 2 April, the latter states that “Eight years after the handover, implementation of the 'one country/two systems' concept for Macao continues to be satisfactory”. The Commission points out that Macao's way of life, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms have been preserved. It also notes that in 2007, cooperation with the EU and the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) continued to deepen and make good progress. The Commission report underlines the spectacular economic recovery of the region as a whole but indicates that “the lack of institutional and administrative reforms, that would ensure greater transparency and more direct accountability, is a cause of concern”.
The Commission considers that in 2007, Macao continued to be a significant partner for the EU, sharing values and interests in the economic, regulatory, social, educational and cultural domains. Cooperation particularly increased with the effective implementation of the EU-Macao re-admission agreement and the successful MIGRAMACAO training programme for Macao immigration officers. The European Commission welcomed the significant efforts by SAR during 2007 to prevent and combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. The report notes the enhancement of procedures for public procurement to improve transparency and to strengthen the regulatory framework in order to ensure fair and open competition, and encourages Macao to pursue and develop this policy of administrative reform and prevention of corruption. The report explains that the European Commission has also started exploratory talks with Macao with a view to promoting the introduction of measures equivalent to the EC directive on taxation of savings.
The Commission notes that economic and trade cooperation between the EU and Macao strengthened in 2007, despite bilateral trade in goods continuing to shrink as a result of dwindling imports of clothing from Macao following the phasing out of the agreement on textiles and clothing.
For the first nine months of 2007, imports from Macao fell by about 12% to €366 million. EU exports to Macao, on the other hand, recorded a sharp growth of 28% to €146 million due to the strong demand for capital goods and fine consumer products.
At a political level, the Commission considers relations between the SAR and mainland China as relatively calm but it is concerned by the criminality associated with the gaming sector (money laundering, gang warfare, corruption, etc) and points out that mainland China and other countries such as the US are putting pressure on Macao to bring its legislation and provisions in this field in lined with international practices. The Commission also considers that progress towards democracy does not constitute a major question because the difference between the fundamental law in Hong Kong and that of Macao, does not stipulate that universal suffrage is the ultimate aim of constitutional development, even if there is indeed a possibility of amending the method of appointing the head of the executive and the legislative body. The report explains that the head of the executive, Edmund Ho, has declared that it would not be possible to have direct universal suffrage in 2009 or immediately after and that they needed to first of all scrupulously examine the question. The Commission has formally noted this declaration and has expressed its delight, in advance, with the launch of the development and democracy plan. It is also pleased with respect paid to the independence of the judiciary and the positive results achieved by the latter.
The report underlines that Macao also faces a whole range of challenges concerning the quality of its environment, most notably in maintaining and managing the architectural and cultural heritage, air quality, water quality, energy efficiency, waste treatment and low emission standards for vehicles. In this context, the authors note the collaborative opportunities on offer in the EU's 7th Research Framework, which would help towards meeting these challenges.