A4-0086/97

Resolution on the Commission communication on European Community support for regional economic integration efforts among developing countries (COM(95)0219 - C4- 0260/95)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication (COM(95)0219 - C4-0260/95),

- having regard to Articles 130u and 130v of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to the second Yaoundé Convention of 1969 and subsequent Lomé Conventions,

- having regard to the conclusions of the European Councils of Lisbon (1992) and Essen (1994),

- having regard to the Council resolution on support for regional integration efforts by developing countries of 1 June 1995,

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Development and Cooperation and the opinion of the Committee on External Economic Relations (A4-0086/97),

A. welcoming the Commission's communication in light of the trend towards regional cooperation and integration in the post-cold war global economy,

B. convinced not only that developments can come about through the fact that economic and cultural relations of many countries of the South are still geared towards the countries of the North, and in particular the former colonial powers, but that a revival of exchange and cross-border cooperation between the developing countries is a matter of urgent necessity,

C. convinced that regional economic cooperation and integration can contribute to the improvement of the serious economic, social and environmental problems which many of the developing countries are facing; believing, however, that a highly differentiated approach is necessary to promote the interests of the poorest populations in the developing world,

D. aware of the failure of many regional integration efforts, particularly in Africa; recognising the need to analyse these carefully in order to achieve the most effective support possible,

E. convinced that external support for regional economic integration in the developing world is of great importance and that the EU is particularly well placed to assume a leading role in this field due to its own history of regional economic integration; equally convinced, however, that the European model of integration can only serve as a source of experience and is not directly transferable to the developing countries,

1. Considers that the primary purpose of regional economic integration in developing countries should be to foster poverty alleviation and promote sustainable economic, social and humanistic development;

2. Considers that integrating developing countries into the world economy is also a means to the same end, not an end in itself;

3. Considers that regional economic integration is a basic means of promoting the social and economic development of associated developing countries, facilitating the international integration of their economies and helping to bring people together and to strengthen international peace and stability;

4. Expressly supports the urgently needed efforts of the Commission to review the support measures for regional economic integration in the developing countries;

5. Calls in particular for greater coordination between the donors, and in particular the European Union and its Member States, and calls on the Commission - in addition to other measures - to submit without delay the announced annual report beginning with the 1996 reporting year;

6. Regards it as essential that support for regional economic integration among developing countries should be well-coordinated between agencies involved and calls on the Commission to assist with such coordination;

7. Recognizes that the economic, political, social and institutional realities of different regions of the developing world vary widely as do the possibilities for bringing about successful regional integration;

8. Believes that where the necessary preconditions for successful regional integration do not exist, support for other forms of regional cooperation may be more appropriate;

9. Calls for greater emphasis to be placed on functional cooperation in EU support to certain regions of the developing world (particularly in Africa), as such cooperation can create mutual confidence and mutual interest on which subsequent moves towards policy harmonization and ultimately regional economic integration can be soundly built;

10. Believes that any EU policy of support for regional cooperation and, within this policy, regional economic integration should be based on:

- an understanding of the regional characteristics of the developing world (historical, economic, political, social and institutional);

- an assessment of the extent to which the necessary preconditions for regional economic integration (as opposed to programmes of functional regional cooperation) can be held to exist in the various regions of the developing world;

- a realistic assessment of the timing and phasing of regional cooperation processes on which subsequently regional economic integration can be built;

11. Believes that for some regions in the developing world, particularly the least developed countries, multilateral liberalization based purely on market forces may reduce the economic benefits arising from regional economic integration;

12. Believes that regional economic integration efforts should often include a variety of preferential measures in support of the weaker economies in the region; emphasizes that the EU should take this aspect into consideration and base support measures on the needs of the weaker nation states in a regional arrangement;

13. Considers it essential for regional integration agreements to allow those party to them to increase their trade and economic integration beyond what is required by the WTO (GATT 1994), provided that such liberalization agreements do not lead to an increase in protectionism against countries which remain outside the agreements;

14. Is of the opinion that far more attention needs to be paid to the problem of financing cohesion measures, where regional economic integration is being supported between countries with widely differing economic structures and levels of development;

15. Believes that the adjustment costs to developing countries arising from moves away from non-reciprocal preferences to greater reciprocity will vary greatly from country to country and region to region; supports the Commission's view that donor support to various forms of adjustment assistance to those countries, regions or sectors with the highest adjustment costs may be necessary to strengthen integration;

16. Believes that careful consideration should be given to the implications for individual developing countries and regions of moves away from non- reciprocal preferences to greater reciprocity in order to ensure that the objectives of poverty alleviation and the promotion of sustainable economic, social and humanistic development are not undermined;

17. Is of the opinion that the excessive number of regional organizations in Africa leads to costly duplication of effort, inefficiency and problems of coordination; therefore asks the Commission and Member States to support and assist efforts to rationalize the existing set of organizations, should the countries concerned so desire;

18. Endorses the apt comment in the communication that conflict and overlapping between the mandates of regional organizations lead to inefficiency and a waste of resources, and calls on the Commission to raise this matter in its contacts with the relevant organizations and governments and to work towards efficient coordination and to use resources accordingly;

19. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to examine rigorously all regional organizations for efficiency and prospects of success and only to support organizations which can make a sustainable contribution towards improving the economic, political, social and environmental situation;

20. Calls on the Commission to promote and support the regional cooperation efforts involving the outermost regions of the Union with the states, countries or territories making up their geographical environment with a view to cooperation based on the development needs of the different partners and which respects each one's interests;

21. Regards it as essential that regional economic integration efforts aim to include local populations and the private sector since no long-term success can be achieved without grass-root support; points out, in this respect, that the purpose of poverty alleviation is best served by employing locally suitable and empowering practices;

22. Believes that the interests of women, children and especially vulnerable groups such as indigenous peoples should be assessed and properly taken into account in all regional economic integration efforts;

23. Strongly supports the Commission's view of the importance of increasing local capacity to formulate and implement regional integration policies; believes that technical assistance and training schemes are important elements to achieve this;

24. Shares the Commission's view that external support may be necessary to offset the negative impact on the balance of payments of many developing countries resulting from a reduction in their tariff revenue due to economic liberalization in the context of regional economic integration;

25. Considers it crucial that national economic reform programmes take into account the regional dimension;

26. Stresses that regional economic integration may be in the medium and long term the best means of promoting development in the Maghreb as well as in the Mashreq and the Middle East; to this end, calls on the Commission to consider (and possibly apply) an amendment to, and allow cumulation of, the rules on origin in respect of the main products exported by the Mediterranean countries in order to stimulate trade and economic integration amongst the various countries and groups of countries in the region;

27. Welcomes the introduction into Lomé IV/2 of regional cumulation under the rules of origin, but calls for simplification of the procedures and flexible implementation of the regional cumulation provision in order to ensure that the potential for trade creation and new investments under this new instrument are effectively encouraged;

28. Welcomes the recent introduction of regional cumulation of rules on origin in trade between the EU and the member countries of the Central American Common Market as regards products eligible for the European Union's GSP;

29. Considers that the EU should make more decisive use of its GSP as a means of promoting the regional economic integration of developing countries and therefore takes the view that the Commission should facilitate more flexible use of the rules on origin by such countries by allowing subregional cumulation;

30. Considers that a stronger environmental focus would strengthen the Commission communication since no development strategy can be truly sustainable without taking environmental issues into account; asks the Commission to incorporate this aspect into the Communication;

31. Calls on the Commission to submit a further report on the regional integration efforts of the developing countries to cover the areas of economic integration not covered hitherto, such as infrastructure and, in particular, the political, cultural and ethnic aspects which are basic conditions for the success of integration efforts;

32. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, Commission and governments of the Member States.