3.2

The CPA’s core objective of ‘reducing and eventually eradicating poverty, consistent with the objectives of sustainable development, and the gradual integration of the ACP Group into the world economy’ is presented in three complementary pillars: — Political dialogue. The CPA was avant-garde, as it is based on comprehensive political dialogue that requires important bilateral commitments. It states, ‘The dialogue shall focus, inter alia, on specific political issues of mutual concern or of general significance for the attainment of the objectives of this Agreement, such as the arms trade, excessive military expenditure, drugs and organised crime, or ethnic, religious or racial discrimination. The dialogue shall also encompass a regular assessment of the developments concerning the respect for human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance.’ — Economic and trade relations. The CPA departs from the logic of former trade agreements under Yaoundé and Lomé, which were governed by non-reciprocal preferences granted unilaterally by the EU. The EU recognised that ‘as regards the economic fundamentals, the truth is that the current system has failed; that ACP countries have become increasingly marginalised in world trade, even with the generous tariff preferences’ (2). The new trade agreements to be negotiated under the CPA — the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) — were designed to overcome this history and finally to allow the ACP countries to integrate into the world economy. The EPA also adheres to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules by reducing the negative impact of the ‘non-reciprocal preferences’ on non-ACP developing countries and encourages regional integration, by linking up with existing ACP regional economic institutions and free trade areas (FTAs). Although negotiations for these reciprocal and asymmetrical free trade agreements began in 2002, the Cariforum is the first and only region to sign a comprehensive EPA (in 2007), which goes beyond trade and includes the ‘Singapore issues’. The negotiations with the other regions have been sought with friction based on different visions for economic development and to date only several interim-EPAs (i-EPAs) covering trade in goods only, have been concluded with Southern African Development Community (SADC), East African Community (EAC) and Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). — Trade and regional integration. The EPA aims to foster regional integration and is premised on the logic that greater regional integration boosts trading capacities and in turn, boosts growth, employment and economic development. However, the criticism surrounding the EPA claims the exact opposite, that the EPA is in fact a hindrance to greater regional integration. This argument is premised on the belief that the EPA does not provide for the necessary structural transformation of ACP economies, which would allow them to strengthen their place in and move up the global value chain (GVC). — Trade and sustainable development. Ironically, the EPA has come under much criticism for not being ambitious enough, especially in relation to sustainable development. The i-EPAs with the three African regions have received criticism, inter alia, from Members of the European Parliament for not having sustainable development chapters at all. In their view, this undermines the ambitious scope of the agreement, the EU’s own commitment to sustainable development and its own principle of policy coherence for development (PCD). In the case of the Cariforum-EU EPA, despite the agreement being the only comprehensive one to date, critics have pointed out that restrictive export provisions could undermine the region’s ability to respond to systemic shocks and in turn, undermine the region’s ability to attain food security. — Development cooperation. The cooperation tools and methods are meant to operationalise the CPA’s principles by focusing on results, partnership and ownership. The programming and implementation of the European Development Fund (EDF) are therefore designed as a joint responsibility. — The EDF is directly financed through voluntary contributions by EU Member States outside of the EU budget, but it is negotiated in parallel with other EU external financing instruments to ensure consistency. It is managed by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The EIB manages the Investment Facility and provides loans, guarantees and funds from both the EDF and its own resources, for private companies in ACP countries for short- and long-term private and public sector projects — The EDF’s total allocations have increased while retaining its inter-governmental character and governance structure, which has allowed it to become the largest element in EU development cooperation aside from the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Based on the EDF’s unique history and legal status, as well as its inter-governmental basis, the European Parliament (EP) has no co-decision power over it. The EP Development Committee does engage in general policy discussions and is an important CPA stakeholder. The Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) also has the power to carry out parliamentary scrutiny over EDF allocations of the national indicative programmes (NIPs)and regional indicative programmes (RIPs) — The EDF and budgetisation. The EP, through the special discharge procedure, grants discharge to the European Commission for its management and implementation of EDF. Budgetisation — inclusion of the EDF in the EU’s budget — remains a source of friction between the EP and the Council, although the Commission has suggested that the EDF be included in the EU budget on several occasions. — The EESC believes that all forms of support that the EU gives to third countries should fall under the same legal framework and be subject to the same democratic checks of the EP. It therefore calls for the integration of the EDF into the EU budget while preserving the positive aspects of the EDF (e.g. reciprocity and mutual responsibility). This will result in a more coherent EU development policy.