RESOLUTION(1)

on the contribution of research and science - including information technologies - to sustainable development

The ACP-EU Joint Assembly,

- meeting in Strasbourg (France) from 29 March to 1 April 1999,

- having regard to the Rocard report on guidelines for renegotiating the Lomé Agreement,

- having regard to the Commission Communication entitled "The Information Society and Development: the Role of the European Union",

A. whereas cooperation policy and ACP-EU relations in all their forms should promote sustainable development in the ACP countries,

B. whereas the successor agreement to Lomé IV must make an effective contribution to increasing equity within and between nations in order to reverse the growing marginalisation of the ACP countries,

C. whereas research and scientific and technological innovation are decisive factors in economic dynamism, which is a precondition for the sustainable development of the developing countries, and whereas strengthening them can help to narrow the gap between the developing and the industrialised countries by optimising the human and material resources of the former in an appropriate manner,

D. whereas the modern world is divided into technologically rich entities and technologically poor ones; whereas a number of ACP countries are virtually excluded from the major technological changes in the world, are unable to use modern technology and have no access to the rules and regulations of that technology,

E. noting that the developing countries' lack of financial and human resources increases their dependence on the industrialised countries and stressing that the ultimate aim of all cooperation in the area of research should be to build up local research capacities able to work in liaison with the international scientific community,

F. firmly believing that the promotion of research and technological development and access to technology are essential both for economic progress and for the smooth integration of the ACP countries into the world economy,

G. whereas research carried out in the developing countries - particularly in the ACP countries - should take account first and foremost of the specific constraints and development needs of those countries, and should be based in particular on the development of technologies directed towards the sustainable use of local resources,

H. whereas it is essential to develop the use of first-line technologies based on the capacities and cultural resources of the population as well as on outside technological assistance which is cheap and easily disseminated,

I. whereas the sustainable development of developing countries must also be based on mobilising and optimising human resources, and whereas education and training stimulate the development of research capacities,

J. having regard to the immense possibilities for communication and knowledge offered by the information society, as well as the opportunities it provides in terms of gaining economic independence and of development, and conscious of the considerable benefits the ACP countries could derive from its development,

K. whereas information technology determines a country's opportunity and ability to generate wealth, power and knowledge and its ability to compete internationally in either the manufacturing or the services sector,

L. whereas the European Union, in the framework of the future EU-ACP partnership agreement, must give increased support to scientific research and technological development, and whereas this assistance should consist, inter alia, of financial transfers aimed at independent research capacity building, transfer of appropriate technology, exchanges and the linking of scientific and technological know-how and experience to priority needs,

1. Stresses that it is strategically important for the ACP countries to be able to take part in, and have access to, scientific and technical progress and calls on the EU to demonstrate greater solidarity vis-à-vis its ACP partners in that area so that their social, economic and cultural development can be stimulated;

2. Takes the view that future cooperation with the European Union in the area of scientific and technological research must take the form of helping to strengthen and to build endogenous research capacity which will meet in a local and very concrete way the challenges encountered by the ACP countries and allow priorities to be established which meet the real development needs of the societies in question;

3. Calls on the European Union to provide, under the next ACP-EU agreement, direct aid for technology transfer so as to boost job creation, training and efficient government administration of the state, and to provide technical assistance to the governments of the ACP countries in order to enable technology transfer and skills training to be incorporated into contracts with international companies;

4. Takes the view that the EU must also help the ACP countries to define their information and communications needs and on this basis to develop policies appropriate to their own development objectives, which should always be guided by the wish to promote access to information for the greatest possible number of people and equal opportunities for all citizens, and which should allow the benefits of the global information society to be fairly distributed between North and South;

5. Calls on the European Union and the ACP countries to cooperate within the WTO in order to seek a revision of trade-related property rights (TRPS) and to reduce the impact of increased technology costs by means of an extensive protection of patents, particularly in the developing countries;

6. Stresses the need to optimise traditional knowledge and local resources, which are likely to provide very practical solutions to specific local needs and to offer genuine sources of innovation for research worldwide;

7. Takes the view that stress must be laid on first-line technologies which enable countries to emerge from poverty and to begin a cumulative process of sustainable wealth production and which include the areas of health and hygiene, water, and waste processing and recycling;

8. Considers it necessary to set up a European foundation for the assistance and long-term support of research laboratories in the developing countries with a view to improving knowledge of the environment, resources and societies of these countries;

9. Takes the view that while the brain drain can be used to set up networks of expatriate scientists, assistance should also be given to research scientists who wish to remain in, or return to, their countries of origin;

10. Stresses the importance and the urgency of working for the development of a universal information society in which the developing countries would play a full part;

11. Calls for a strategy to be defined which takes the information society aspect into account in the analysis of cooperation projects and programmes, so that cooperation instruments can be organised in a more consistent and effective fashion;

12. Recalls that access to information sources, including international networks such as the Internet, is a precondition for information exchange, and hence for the effectiveness of any strategy to promote research;

13. Considers that, in addition to technology improvement, efforts must be made to develop the ACP countries' human resources by promoting access to education and training, particularly in the fields of telecommunications and data processing;

14. Recalls that serious efforts must be made to coordinate the various Community, national and international instruments; calls on the Commission, in addition, to ensure that there is maximum flexibility of financial instruments for cooperation with its ACP partners in the areas of scientific and technological research;

15. Instructs its Co-Presidents to forward this resolution to the ACP-EU Council and the Commission.

(1) Adopted by the ACP-EU Joint Assembly on 1 April 1999 in Strasbourg (France).