Moreover, article 130 v of the Maastricht Treaty requires the Community to take account of the effects of its policies in developing countries. Article 130 x requires also a better co-ordination and more complementarity between the Community and the Member States. All these are very good and valid objectives and principles. That said, the experience of European and Southern NGOs is that the positive intentions of Community development policies are often undermined and contradicted by the effects in the South of other Community policies like trade, agriculture and fisheries. These negotiations and agreements are going to be settled between governments.
Civil society has to be involved at all levels.
Another reason why civil society representatives, including development NGOs, must be involved in this process is to counter the argument that there is a loss of legitimacy of development aid within European public opinions. The official discourse on participatory development focusing on people has not yet been put into practice. Civil society organisations in many ACP countries are still treated as secondary actors. A process of consultation and concertation between NGOs from the North and the South has to be initiated to develop common platforms and positions and put them before decision-makers. The year 2000 should hopefully see the conclusion of a new agreement between the fifteen EU Member States and the seventy ACP countries.