RESOLUTION(1)

on the future of the ACP-EU relations

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Abuja (Nigeria) from 20 to 23 March 2000,

- having regard to the final report on the future of the ACP-EU relations,

- having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the ACP countries and the European Community and its Member States concluded in Brussels on 3 February 2000,

- having regard to its resolutions adopted prior to, and during, the negotiations,

A. whereas the Commission, the Council and the Heads of State of the ACP countries have called for a genuine and fairer partnership, and the European Parliament voted, almost unanimously, in favour of strengthening ACP-EU cooperation,

B. whereas the European Parliament must give its assent to the Partnership Agreement,

C. whereas the Joint Assembly has maintained a clear and unequivocal position on the need for maintaining and strengthening the ACP-EU relationship,

D. whereas the negotiations were very detailed and covered every area of cooperation, and were preceded by a debate which considered the relevance and objectives of ACP-EU cooperation,

E. having noted the difference in capacities of the two sides in preparing and pursuing the negotiations,

F. whereas the pressures felt by developing countries in an increasingly competitive global trading system have led to a widening gap between the poorest and most prosperous countries, in terms of both wealth and access to resources, and a gradual erosion in ACP trade preferences following multilateral trade liberalisation,

G. whereas it is anticipated that the Agreement will be signed in Suva, the capital of Fiji, on 8 June 2000,

1. Welcomes the signing of the new Agreement establishing ACP-EU cooperation on a new basis, but points at the same time to the profound change in the European attitude, especially where trade is concerned, and the corresponding departure from the 'Lomé spirit', the philosophy that has previously informed the agreements signed to date;

2. Welcomes an overall agreement, which represents a 20-year contract and embodies a series of instruments for cooperation;

3. Notes with satisfaction attempts to preserve the uniqueness of the Lomé Convention, with its binding contractual nature, and emphasis on partnership, joint decision-making and mutual benefit;

4. Welcomes the retention of the geographical framework for ACP-EU cooperation, but believes that this unity must also be preserved at the political level and ensure that a single ACP-EU institutional framework remains in place, especially as regards the continuing geographically united nature of the ACP-EU Joint Assembly over and above the possible "regionalisation" of ACP-EU cooperation;

5. Underlines, in relation to the new Agreement, the fact that the Treaty on European Union establishes that the Council and the Commission shall be responsible for ensuring the coherence and consistency of theW Union's external activities, but expects the Joint Assembly to play an increasing role; calls on the Commission and Council to introduce mechanisms for ensuring that the Union's policies affecting the ACP countries and the other developing countries are consistent with development goals;

6. Calls on the Council and Commission to do their utmost to make Member States' policies complement the Union's development policy under the Agreement to a greater extent;

7. Welcomes the commitment to work towards honouring the pledges made at UN Conferences held in Rio, Vienna, Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome; stresses that economic growth alone does not necessarily meet the objective of poverty alleviation and in order to combat increasing poverty, the commitments undertaken in Rio in 1992 should be implemented;

8. Calls on European governments and the governments of other industrialised nations to keep the solemn promise previously made at a number of key UN conferences to allocate 0,7 % of their GNP to finance the development of the poorest countries;

9. Welcomes the commitment in future cooperation programmes to sound and sustainable development;

10. Emphasises that the joint decision by the ACP-EU partners to undertake to put measures in place to eradicate poverty has major significance and importance, and notes that it is the first time that such a commitment has been incorporated into a binding agreement of this kind;

11. Welcomes the recognition in the Agreement of the need for a participatory approach for civil society and non-governmental organisations; believes that civil society should become one of the main players in the implementation of the new Agreement;

12. Welcomes the fact that civil society will be offered information and consultation on development strategies and policies, as well as access to finances and to involvement in the implementation of development projects and programmes;

13. Regrets that there is still insufficient definition of how the dialogue between those party to the Agreement and the representatives of civil society will be developed and urges the ACP-EU partners to lay down promptly the practical arrangements that will enable civil society to be involved in various fields, and at various stages, of cooperation, including planning;

14. Emphasises the fact that in the Agreement special attention is given to the need for the provision of adequate levels of public spending in social sectors and welcomes references to education and training and to health, sanitation and housing priorities;

15. Welcomes the fact that the new Agreement has a general reference to the rights of the child;

16. Underlines the commitment to the mainstreaming of gender throughout the Agreement and welcomes the adoption of a number of measures designed to strengthen the role and participation of women;

17. Emphasises that the inclusion of a fully-fledged political dimension represents a major innovation in the new Agreement; points to the need for the political dialogue to be established on a formal footing and pursued through periodic top-level meetings between the ACP States and the EU, following the example of the first EU-Africa Summit due shortly to be held in Cairo;

18. Welcomes the inclusion of good governance as a fundamental element in the Agreement, and notes that this corresponds to the position which the Joint Assembly adopted at its meeting in Nassau;

19. Underlines that the parties have undertaken to pursue an active, comprehensive and integrated policy of peace building, conflict prevention and resolution, this being the main challenge of the ACP-EU partnership, in order to provide security and stability for the ACP countries; believes that transparency in the arms trade and a reduction in military expenditure have an essential part to play in the achievement of this goal;

20. Notes with concern that the topic of migration was raised by the European Union at a late stage in the negotiations and acknowledges that the final compromise stated that the EU will negotiate bilateral agreements with individual ACP states, setting out arrangements for the readmission of third country nationals and stateless persons;

21. Calls for the specific ACP-EU cooperation programmes to be used to capitalise on and develop the human and professional resources of ACP citizens, not least to enable ACP immigrants living on European territory to be reintegrated professionally, socially and economically in the countries from which they come;

22. Reaffirms that human dignity is inviolable and maintains that human rights are sacred and inalienable and should be applied without any restrictions whatsoever to all persons on European Union territory;

23. Calls for emigrants who are not Community nationals to be treated equally as regards economic and social rights, and for their civil, cultural, and political rights to be recognised under the terms of the relevant Council of Europe Convention;

24. Draws attention once again to the principle of non-return laid down in the Geneva and Dublin Conventions on the right of asylum and the right of refugees to seek asylum;

25. Welcomes the inclusion of the private sector in the Agreement and, in particular, the support offered to the private sector in ACP countries in order to strengthen its competitiveness;

26. Welcomes the new provisions on regional cooperation which reflect the wishes expressed by the Joint Assembly, and also welcomes the opportunity to set up Regional Joint Parliamentary Assemblies;

27. Expresses its disquiet at the fact that the new ACP-EU Agreement will be subject to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules and that the time frame will be so short that the ACP States will not be in a proper position to withstand international trading competition; believes that the request to grant a WTO waiver in respect of the new ACP-EU Partnership Agreement should be supported so as to enable preferential treatment to be accorded to the ACP countries;

28. Recognises the difficulties which will be encountered in a number of ACP regions due to the economic and social effects of the HIV/Aids pandemic, and calls on the Council, the Commission, and the ACP States further to intensify their efforts to provide the necessary financial and human resources to pursue programmes aimed at eradicating the pandemic, taking into account prevention policies and the whole range of social and economic problems associated with Aids, in particular the situation of children orphaned as a result of the pandemic;

29. Believes that the resources earmarked for measures to combat the spread of malaria should be increased greatly as a matter of priority under the Partnership Agreement and calls on the Commission substantially to expand the capacity of the ENVI and AMVIN programmes;

30. Calls on the EU and ACP governments to develop a comprehensive strategy for improved access to essential drugs and to monitor the impact of trade agreements on public health in developing countries;

31. Welcomes the increased flexibility introduced in the deployment and utilisation of EDF funds, but expresses anxiety at the same time at the decision by European governments to cut funding for ACP-EU cooperation in real terms, even though unused resources remaining from some of the previous EDFs have been added to the current overall ACP-EU budget;

32. Notes with concern the fact that reference is not made to special treatment for landlocked, island and vulnerable States in the determination of eligibility for support under the new provisions on export earnings/losses;

33. Notes with concern that the provisions on fluctuations in commodity exports fail to make clear the assistance which the Community may provide, and calls on the Commission to indicate how it intends to help those countries whose economies are dependent on commodities; calls on the European Parliament to refrain from giving its assent to the new Agreement until this matter has been resolved;

34. Welcomes the strengthening of the role of the Joint Assembly, now known as the Joint Parliamentary Assembly, which will have responsibility, inter alia, for fostering democratic processes;

35. Stresses that the credibility of the new ACP-EU policy dialogue in the framework of the new Partnership Agreement requires a democratic debate on the development and trade policies of the EU, its Member States and the ACP countries;

36. Welcomes the negotiators' efforts to make the Agreement more readable and more readily understandable;

37. Deeply regrets that the issue of migration was allowed to threaten the whole Agreement and that certain Member States risked jeopardising the negotiations;

38. Calls on the Commission to refrain from putting pressure on ACP States by attaching stipulations on migration to any other agreements under discussion;

39. Stresses the importance of the commitment to target cooperation on improving access for women to the resources required for the full exercise of their fundamental rights;

40. Urges that cooperation be targeted on promoting the fulfilment of children's rights, in particular basic education, health and the participation of children; in this respect, ACP States should be given the option to choose the arrangement that best serves their development needs;

41. Calls on the parties to the Agreement to make an effort, in accordance with the Jomtien and Copenhagen Conferences, to develop programmes guaranteeing universal access to basic education and vocational training at secondary level for both boys and girls;

42. Urges the new ACP-EU dialogue to prioritise reform of military expenditure and the security sector;

43. Urges ratification of the new optional protocol on child soldiers by all States, without delay, and calls on both parties to proceed towards making 18 the minimum age for recruitment and participation in armed conflicts;

44. Calls for all available options for future EU-ACP trade relations to be explored in the light of the outcome of the 2006 review on the progress achieved in preparing ACP economies for reciprocity, and urges that that review be based on an in-depth analysis of the impact of the proposals on the achievement of poverty eradication and sustainable development;

45. Calls for future trade arrangements to broaden access to the EU market for ACP countries, particularly for products where ACP countries have, or can acquire, a competitive advantage;

46. Calls on the EU and ACP countries to undertake to conduct case studies on the impact of trade liberalisation on a limited number of ACP countries, in order to inform ongoing discussion on a new trade agreement;

47. Stresses the importance, in the discussion of free trade, of improving the capacity of ACP economies and enterprises to compete with EU enterprises;

48. Calls for all efforts to enhance capacity and develop competitiveness in ACP economies to be monitored, and for progress in this regard to be a determining factor when drawing up timetables for individual ACP countries and regions to achieve reciprocity;

49. Recognises that the emerging information economy - underpinned by the rapid development of ICT - offers good opportunities for developing countries to integrate into the global economy, advance human development, and bypass certain stages in the modernisation process; believes that such opportunities can only be put to good use through massive capacity building to provide the necessary infrastructure, institutions, educational systems, etc. and that the European Union must assume a key role in this context;

50. Calls for progress towards meeting poverty eradication targets through the deployment of EDF funds to be assessed in the joint annual reports by the national authorising officers and Commission Delegates in individual ACP countries and, if need be, in ACP regions;

51. Calls for the submission of these annual reports to the European Parliament, the Joint Assembly and the national parliaments of each ACP country, in order to facilitate debate on the utilisation and deployment of EDF funds, and, if possible, the submission of regional development reports to African regions, the Caribbean countries and the Pacific ACP States;

52. Calls on the Commission to make special provision for ACP States with are LLDCs and for vulnerable island and landlocked ACP States when establishing future allocations of financial and technical cooperation resources;

53. Restates its firm belief that the WTO rules need to be revised in order to take better account of the particular needs of the poorest countries, and in order to take account of the potential impact of those rules on vulnerable groups, such as women and children;

54. Urges the European Union's representatives to put development issues at the heart of discussions at the next international trade negotiations;

55. Urges the creation of effective mechanisms for monitoring the exercise of the discretionary powers given to the Commission under the new arrangements;

56. Calls for the direct involvement of the Joint Assembly in monitoring the ongoing discussions and deliberations;

57. Asks the Commission and the representatives of the ACP countries to continue to pursue the objectives defined in the Agreement so as to achieve results that are genuinely of benefit to both sides;

58. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council, the Commission, the European Parliament and the parliaments of the ACP countries.

(1) Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 23 March 2000 in Abuja (Nigeria).