JOINT ASSEMBLY OF THE CONVENTION CONCLUED BETWEEN THE AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC STATES AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY (ACP-EC)

RESOLUTION () on future relations between the ACP States and the European Union

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Luxembourg from 23 to 26 September 1996,

- having regard to the report on future relations between the ACP States and the EU (ACP-EU 1793/96),

- having regard to the Dakar Action Plan, adopted at its meeting from 30 January to 3 February 1995 (),

- having regard to the negotiations on amendment of the Fourth Lomé Convention, which concluded with the signing on 4 November 1995,

A. whereas negotiations on future relations between the ACP States on the one hand and the European Community and its Member States on the other will be beginning, in accordance with Article 366 of the Fourth Lomé Convention, 18 months before the Convention expires on 29 February 2000,

B. whereas it is desirable for discussion on the continuance of relations to begin as soon as possible, in view of the complexity of the subject, the interests at stake and the large number of participants and in the prospect of the planned meeting of the heads of state and government of the ACP States in 1997,

C. whereas this process of discussion should include not only politicians and technocrats but also representatives of industry and trade unions, civil society, the non-governmental organizations, academics and research institutes, both in the EC Member States and in the ACP States,

D. whereas, since it is the democratically legitimate authority of the peoples of the EC and the ACP States, the Joint Assembly intends to play an important role as a forum for preparing a position on the new guidelines for relations and the form they should take, and for mobilizing public opinion,

E. having regard to the foreign policy tasks and objectives of the EU in the context of security and development policy, as defined in Articles B and C of the EU Treaty and Article 130u of the EC Treaty, and to its identity as a repository of common values, upholding human rights and the right to a life worthy of humanity,

F. whereas the international situation has changed profoundly since the Fourth Lomé Convention was concluded, with the end of the Cold War, a shift in the emphasis of security and economic policy, fiercer competition as a result of liberalization and globalization, radical economic structural change and rapid, revolutionary progress in technology, especially in the field of information and telecommunications,

G. having regard to the consequent risks and opportunities for the ACP States, some of which have made welcome progress with economic and political reforms, though for many the situation remains precarious,

H. whereas more than half the ACP States belong to the least developed countries of the world, and whereas the worsening social and economic situation, of which there is widespread evidence, derives from external and internal factors and the countries concerned are not in a position to deal with the process of recovery on their own,

I. whereas the structural adjustment programmes imposed by the IMF and the World Bank in order to 'redress` the economy of the ACP countries have instead aggravated their social and economic difficulties, reducing the budget for the social sectors, thus penalizing most of the population, weakening the public sector, and increasing unemployment and poverty,

J. having regard to the impending enlargement of the EU, which in view of the ensuing considerable financial strain may lead to a reassessment of foreign and development policy interests,

K. whereas the dependence of the ACP countries on the countries of the North, the collapse of purchasing power, the increasing debt burden, the worsening terms of trade and subsidized exports from the EU, amongst other things, have compromised the autonomous development of the ACP countries,

L. having regard to the successes and failures of past and present development cooperation under the Lomé conventions, and to the doubts prevailing in some areas of public opinion as to the effectiveness and purpose of traditional development aid,

M. having regard to the military disputes and internal conflicts affecting some ACP countries, which place the population concerned in extreme difficulties, cause movements of refugees and threaten to destabilize neighbouring countries,

N. whereas in spite of Stabex and Sysmin, the trade preferences benefiting the ACP countries have been eroded: the ACP share of the European market dropped from 7 % in 1975 to 3,7 % in 1993 and globalization of the economy, presided over by the World Trade Organization, is likely to further worsen the marginalization of the ACP countries in general and the African countries in particular,

O. having regard to the many common interests of the EU and the ACP States and to the tasks they face together in dealing with global problems in the field of security and stability, migration, the environment and the campaign against drugs and crime,

1. Notes that international cooperation is increasingly dominated by thinking in economic policy terms connected with the problem of security and that, as a result of the trend towards unbridled liberalization, without taking into account the fact that there is no level playing field in international trade relations, the notion of solidarity between North and South is being sidelined;

2. Regards such trends as hazardous for peaceful and confident international cooperation, partly in view of the global interests at stake, and detrimental to the aim of bridging the widening gap between the living standards of North and South;

3. Calls on the Member States meeting within the Intergovernmental Conference to give development policy the separate attention it deserves when discussing the common foreign policy, in view of the global dangers arising from the fact that many countries' development is lagging a long way behind;

4. Calls once again for the EDFs to be included in the budget in order to safeguard democratic control over the EDFs;

5. Is accordingly convinced that when the Fourth Lomé Convention expires in February 2000 it will be essential to continue development cooperation with the countries of the ACP Group to support the process of economic and political reform, as well as economic recovery and sustainable development, so as to enable them to surmount structural weaknesses, to increase their competitive advantage and to ensure their continued socio-economic development;

6. Underlines the achievements of the Lomé Conventions, which lie in extensive, close development cooperation based on partnership with a long-term perspective, and with which a major contribution has been made to the North-South dialogue and international understanding; stresses the progress supported by the Lomé system in moves towards democracy and respect for human rights in many ACP States; favours continuing such cooperation, with the necessary adjustments to the new situation;

7. Calls for the political leaders of the ACP States and the EU to launch a public discussion on the continuance of relations, in which the representatives of all the relevant sectors of civil society, the economic and social partners, NGOs and research institutes are involved, to ensure that the interests of all who are involved in the development process are taken into account to a greater extent;

8. Considers that the causes of poverty are multiple: too low or non-existent incomes for the majority of African peoples for example, the growth of debt, structural adjustment programmes, the liberalization of world trade, and consequently it is necessary to tackle the causes of poverty rather than the effects;

9. Appeals to the political leaders in the EU, as well as industrialists and commentators in society, to draw attention to the importance of development cooperation with the ACP States for an effective campaign against poverty and to the common interests shared with the ACP States in the fields of security, the environment and the economy;

10. Considers it desirable, in view of the loss of confidence of parts of the general public of the EU in the effectiveness of development cooperation, that the political leaders of the ACP States confirm, by means of a public relations campaign in the EU, the interest of their peoples in the continuance of development cooperation with the EU, as a way of seeking political support for this important venture and underlining their commitment to it;

11. Underlines, with reference to the Treaty of Maastricht, the EU's responsibility for a common foreign and development policy and draws attention to the importance of common action by the Member States in international institutions in the context of development cooperation; emphasizes the advantages of multilateral development aid for the recipient countries in terms of the pursuit of actual development policy objectives, the long-term allocation of sufficient sums and the coordination of measures;

12. Supports the idea of specificities and peculiarities of the various categories of ACP States, as recognized by the Lomé Convention, in defining the instruments of development cooperation, taking account of the differing levels of development and needs in ACP countries and the regional alignment of some countries;

13. Supports the possibility of admitting new signatory states to the Convention on the ACP side, with a level of development comparable to that of the ACP States, in order to improve the coordination of the European Union's development cooperation globally;

14. Underlines the importance of new cooperation instruments that will make it possible to avoid obsolescence in production and marketing structures and the associated distortion, to facilitate the necessary structural reforms and gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy;

15. Considers that the economic reforms of the ACP countries must be designed to satisfy the needs of the vast majority of the population and to combat absolute poverty;

16. Favours looking into mechanisms for crisis prevention or control that will make it possible to avoid conflicts or at least to contain them; points in this regard to the serious consequences and enormous costs of political inaction;

17. Considers that closer relations should be established between the European institutions and the ACP States for the purposes of knowing and comparing legislative systems, especially as regards justice, the absence of which leads to impunity and insecurity, which are the main causes of conflict;

18. Calls for close cooperation between the Member States and the ACP States in order to introduce legislative instruments ensuring coordinated and coherent action against drugs and crime, with due respect for the principle of subsidiarity;

19. Takes the view that, as progress is made with the introduction of democracy and the principles of the market economy, it becomes increasingly important to reach a consensus on the role and functions of the state in relation to society and economic activity partly because the institutions and administrative structures that effective development work requires have not existed; favours, for this reason, greater efforts to set up workable institutions and a competent administration and to establish on the other hand the legal, economic and financial framework for private initiative;

20. Considers that the framing of the agreement to follow Lomé IV should make allowance for the implementation of financial and technical cooperation by bodies other than central governments, i.e. the implementation of cooperation should be placed more in the hands of decentralized bodies such as regional and local administrations, non-governmental organizations, cooperatives, unions, churches and educational and research institutes;

21. Considers it important that development cooperation should, as a priority, strengthen a partner country's ability to fulfil its welfare task in the fields of nutrition, health and education, in order to counteract the effects of poverty and social injustice;

22. Calls for the framing of the agreement which will follow Lomé IV to gear the individual areas of cooperation more to the priority of combating poverty and consequently for particular account to be taken of the most disadvantaged groups such as women, children, old people, the disabled, refugees and ethnic minorities;

23. Stresses the importance of promoting culture not only in compulsory schooling but in all social activities, with a view to encouraging integration between peoples, with due respect for their different racial, ethnic and language backgrounds;

24. Considers that educational and training measures should be introduced and coordinated, starting with compulsory schooling and up to specialized management levels;

25. Points to the importance of providing new health structures and promoting cooperation between research and analysis institutes dealing mainly with transmissible diseases such as AIDS and malaria, which at present are unfortunately rapidly spreading;

26. Calls on the ACP States to determine priorities for their respective territories as regards the proper action to take with a view to protecting and respecting the environment;

27. Takes the view that the real agents of development, the leading forces of civil society, private enterprise and entrepreneurs must be involved in any future agreement to a much greater extent than in the past, and that the formation and extension of small businesses should be supported; accordingly supports reserving appropriate resources for the promotion of private enterprise;

28. Stresses equally however, that greater concentration of ACP-EU cooperation on support for private-sector undertakings should not be at the expense of the fight against poverty and the implementation of basic social rights for the whole population, and that it should not be forgotten that the development of the private sector must have as its goal improved living conditions for the entire population and must take account of the principles of social equality, the environment and sustainable economic development;

29. Confirms that, in the light of continuing progress with liberalization, trade should be more strongly promoted, not only by ensuring that preferential access for the ACP States is preserved as long as possible, but also by simultaneously strengthening competitiveness and encouraging moves to diversify exports and open up new markets;

30. Reiterates the view that the successor agreement to Lomé IV should not only build on the existing institutions and instruments, especially those on a number of commodities, but should also aim at ensuring their effective functioning and implementation bearing in mind that many ACP States still rely on these vital instruments for their continued socio-economic development;

31. Points to the great potential of regional cooperation for trans-frontier use of resources, increasing the size of markets, exploiting comparative advantages and integration into the world economy; calls accordingly for increased promotion of regional cooperation in a new agreement;

32. Takes the view that the effectiveness of development cooperation should matter even more in future than it has done and that, firstly, respect not only for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law but also for responsible and open public administration ('good governance`) form its indispensable foundations; calls, secondly, for funds to be allocated as a priority to measures that have demonstrably positive social and economic effects; regards systematic assessment of implemented projects and their publication as essential to increase efficiency in future ventures;

33. Takes the view that, without cancellation of the debt of, as a minimum, the least developed countries, a durable improvement in their social and economic position will be impossible, and calls accordingly for the governments of the EU Member States to remit the public debts of such countries on a bilateral basis, to work for their remission with the multilateral financial institutions and also to bring about an appreciable easing of public debts in the case of the other ACP States;

34. Appoints a working party to follow the preparatory work for the negotiations on future relations between the ACP States and the EU and the negotiations themselves; draws attention, in this regard, to its resolution of 28 September 1995; ()

35. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution and the accompanying report to the ACPEU Council of Ministers, the Council and the Commission of the EU and the national Parliaments of the EU Member States.